The heroes death undone
by hogwarts-hero
Summary: My first fanfiction -squeals!- Lily and James Potter come back to life, how will things change? Please enjoy.
1. Alive!

**Authors note: **_**Hello everyone *waves* this is my very first fan fiction, so I hope you enjoy it. I would like to say thanks to Angelauthor14 for giving me the courage to write this story *hugs* she has some great stories. Also thank you to Charmedaddict08 who suggested the idea to do this story, I know that James meets Harry is done a lot but I plan to make this my own. This story is based after fourth year, it disregards the fifth book. So without further ado read and enjoy.**_

_**Ok sorry one more thing;**_

_**Disclaimer: **__**My Reality Check bounced. But I know one thing for sure, I am not J.K Rowling! **_

Pain that was the only thing his brain could fathom, unbearable pain, stabbing at his body. He could hear cries but knew it was not him, it was from his small son and Lily but they had to get away, yet unable to move from the tortuous agony he could not help them. The pain increased if that was even possible, causing his voice to mix with that of his wife's terrified screams and Harry's crying. They sounded distant, and then there was nothing but darkness.

James Potter awoke suddenly as a crash of thunder startled him from his slumber, his body ached and was stiff and for a brief moment he wonder why he was lying on the floor, then his memory won the race and caught up with his senses.

'Lily' his voice was raspy but loud, 'Harry' he got to his feet noticing the shards of broken glass that littered the floor, yelling for his wife and baby. Yet no answer came, he searched the kitchen everything was a mess, splintered wood and glass covered the floor Lily and Harry were not there. In five seconds flat he had made it to the stairs climbing them two at a time.

He made it to the landing and headed on impulse to the very last room, not stopping to check the other rooms, the door had be blown off its hinges and lay on the floor, he stepped over it, eyes desperately searching the room, the nursery, then he saw her.

'LILY, oh god please don't be dead' his feet carried him to the red head that lay face down on the floor, unmoving. James dropped to his knees next to the immobile body, silent tears rolling down his checks. With shaking hands he carefully rolled his wife's body over, her eyes were closed, 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Lily' hugging her limp body to his he sobbed into her hair.

He, James Potter, had killed his wife, his Lily flower. Not intentionally but that was no excuse he should have fought harder, he was an auror for god sake he should have been there for her.

'I'm sorry, so sorry' he choked out, feeling lost, defeated. 'I should have protected you, I'm sorry'.

'Stop saying you're sorry James, I'm not dead' James froze, but only momentarily before yelling loudly and embracing his wife 'Lily oh god I thought you were dead' he cried openly as he rock back and forth slightly, cradling his Lily flower in his arms. 'No I'm not dead James' he voice was quiet, muffled by his chest 'But if you don't stop suffocating me I will be' she added not a hint of sarcasm in her tone. James gasped, letting his death grip on Lily to slacken slightly, whilst still holding her close.

'James? Where's Harry?' asked Lily, James stood up pulling his wife with him, she was startled but said nothing as her eyes swept the destroyed room, 'Lily?' James voice was close to hysteria 'where's Emeralds?' in an instance he was out of the room and down the stairs, yelling for his baby boy, he didn't notice his wife roll her eyes at him as he repeated her question.

'Emerald? Come on where are you?' James was in a panic he had searched the house, twice over, and had not found his son. Lily true to her nature was just as worked up as he was, if not more (mothers' protectiveness). She had been through the house and back five times and even checked the bathroom, 'Just in case'.

'He's not here Lily' said James in defeat tears springing to his eyes immediately after saying this, Lily said nothing but continued to search the wrecked kitchen, if not a little psychotically, muttering under her breath. 'LILY?' James grabbed a hold of her shoulder and spun her to face him, 'we need to get help, alert Albus on what has happened. Call Sirius maybe, we have to tell them it was peter' His voice broke in saying this but Lily seemed to calm a little at his touch, 'come on now, Harry might still be alive. If he is we need to get help straight away ok?' he led her slowly to the front door only to discover it to be boarded up. This wasn't right.

'All the windows have been boarded up as well, except a few of the upstairs ones' Lily reported as she came down the stairs. James stood unmoving near the door 'what is it James?' she asked rushing to her husband's side, he was shaking slightly, 'Lily,' he started slowly, lightening ripping though the sky to illuminate his pale features 'our wands are not here, there gone' he said it all very quietly but she heard every word, this really wasn't right.

**Four privet drive:**

Harry James Potter lay on his bed, face hidden in his pillow. He had been in that position for the most part of the day, after Vernon Dursley decided to punish him for not completing his chores for the morning. In his defense the list had been very long consisting of thirty eight jobs altogether.

He was not asleep, but that didn't mean he wasn't tired. Every night since the events of the triwizard tournament, since Cedric's death, Harry had found it hard to sleep, plagued with nightmares that seemed to intensify by the day.

He had also started to have other dreams, dreams that consisted of torture, pain and death, dreams through the mind of Voldemort. As crazy as it sounded, even to him, he realized that he was witnessing death eater meetings. He saw them come, beg for forgiveness if they had failed with some task or devotedly tell him if they had succeeded, it didn't really matter to the dark lord, he tortured them all, the winners and losers.

He had been highly annoyed with himself for waking up screaming, which in turn woke his relatives, and ended very painfully for Harry. He had decided that he would sleep as little as possible.

The cat flap which had been installed in previous years was pushed inward as his aunt shoved a plate of food in to his room. It consisted of a slice of toast and very little jam, well that was better than yesterday, he had only got half an apple then. 'Thanks' he mumbled under his breath 'looks so tasty'.

Jumping off his bed he winced slightly at the pain in his left ankle, it was defiantly broken and hurt like hell. It had been his punishment for not completing the jobs, however he managed to make it to his door and retrieve the food. He ate quickly, making his stomach contract painfully; he ignored it and placed the plate back outside the room, not before giving his owl Hedwig some crust to nibble on.

'BOY?' yelled his whale of an uncle, Harry groaned quietly as the locks on the door begun to clink and unlock.

His uncle looked into the room, distaste etched on his face. Harry admitted to slacking off with cleaning his room, partly because he couldn't be bothered, but also because the events of last year were still fresh in his mind and he couldn't bring himself to care much for what state his bedroom was in.

'Yes uncle Vernon' he answered, his uncle glared momentarily before handing him a list of jobs to do, 'We are going out, Petunia, Dudley and I. You will do all of these before we return and you will be back in this room before we return, otherwise you'll wish you had never been born' this threat was common so it didn't faze Harry in the slightest.

'Yes sir' Harry answered with forced politeness, he really didn't want to clean the already impeccable house, but knew if he was kept busy it would put his mind to ease, at least for a while. Although the prospect of doing it all with his ankle the way it was, was bleak.

His uncle nodded then slammed the door loudly, he didn't lock it. Harry heard his footsteps die down as he descended the stairs, looking at the list he groaned, he now had two extra jobs to complete making his total forty, how they managed to find that many jobs he didn't know, but guessed that they had repeated a few on the list.

'This is going to be a long night' he said before limping down stairs to begin the washing up.

**Godric's Hollow:**

'So we are wand less, trapped in a house which is boarded up and Peter Pettigrew betrayed us' Lily summed up their situations.

'Blasted wormtail, I swear when I get my hands on him,' James left the threat unfinished, anger boiling in his blood. Lily placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, 'how about we see if we can get out of this place by the windows that are broken upstairs?' she asked, James looked skeptical but followed her up the stairs, both had not spoken of Harry now for a while, and had an unspoken agreement not to, not until they knew the truth. As hopeless as it looked, they prayed that maybe just maybe Sirius or Remus or anyone they knew had taken Harry from the wrecked house.

They reached the nursery once more, treading over the broken cot and ruble, 'It's far too high we would get hurt if we jumped' observed James looking at the distance to the ground, Lily sighed 'any ideas?' James shook his head, then just as quickly nodded, grabbing Lily's hand he ran from the room 'The fireplace, we can floo to Prongs Palace and get in contact with the order from there' he called back as he skipped down the stairs, Lily mentally slapped herself why hadn't she thought of that.

The two stopped before the fireplace, James scooping a handful of powder and throwing it into the fire place, then in a chorus of 'PRONG'S PALACE' they were whisked off in a gleam of green flames, spinning fast.

**Prong's Palace:**

'I absolutely hate flooing' commented Lily as they emerged from the large fireplace inside James's beloved family home,

'Master James you is back, you is returned' squealed a small house elf running from the direction of the kitchen to meet her master, followed closely but another, James beamed 'Squeaky, Misjiff' he hugged the two house elves happily.

'But Master James, how did you do it?' asked Misjiff in awe as he stared at James, who looked slightly confused.

'What do you mean Misjiff? How did I do what?' he asked, 'how did you come back Master?' the elf's words were not much help, 'we flooed' cut in Lily, 'from Godric's Hollow' Misjiff seemed to not be looking for that answer for he turned on his heel and rushed to the kitchen, leaving the confused couple and Squeaky in the entrance hall.

Minutes later he arrived back, holding an old newspaper tightly in his hands, 'Master James you must be reading this' he said pushing the rolled up daily prophet in his hands, James unrolled it and begun to read aloud;

_**Potter's dead after horrific attack: **_This was enough to freeze his insides as Lily gasped.

_Lily and James Potter, the parents of one Harry James Potter, has been tragically killed by you-know-who, Rita Skeeter reports._

_Our world was shocked to discover the betrayal of the Potters that ultimately lead to their death. The minister of magic has informed the public that Sirius Black has been apprehended, after attacking twelve muggles and killing Peter Pettigrew, and will be residing in the wizardry prison Azkaban. _It was James's turn to gasp, Lily squeezed his hand reassuringly and he read on.

_Peter Pettigrew was yet another victim in this tragic tale, the only remains of his body was a finger. Many say Black is a maniac._

'_He killed so many people, and betrayed his best friend' commented the minister of magic 'what sort of person does a thing like that?'_

_The good news is that little Harry Potter got out alive. While some believe him to have defeated you-know-who few think otherwise, 'I believe that it is only a matter of time before he returns' said Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts headmaster._

_It is rumored that young Harry received a scar, in the shape of a bolt of lightning, whether this is true is yet unknown._

_Rita Skeeter._

The four stood in silence for minutes on end, no one daring to speak, utter shock constricting James to speak and grief Lily.

Finally Lily spoke up, 'how long has it been?' she asked the elves her voice laced with emotion. 'Around fourteen years' Squeaky answered. James sighed, dropping to a sitting position on the floor, 'what happened that night Voldemort came?' he questioned, until now he hadn't thought about it, he had been too worried about his family's safety.

'He killed you Master James, when you tried to give Lily time to escape' started Squeaky before Misjiff cut in 'that is what us heard' Squeaky nodded then continued 'Lily was killed after Master James, she is protecting baby Harry when he-who-must-not-be-named found her'

'I was in the nursery trying to escape from the window, but it was charmed shut, so I moved the furniture in front of the door, but he got in with ease' Lily's voice was sad and quiet.

'And Harry what happened to him?' demanded James.

'He survive the curse Master James, but for a scar on his forehead' answered Misjiff.

'But how?' asked Lily in awe, how had her baby lived after being hit with that killing curse with just a scar worth of damage, how was it that his heart still bet.

'No one knows' he replied shortly.

**Authors note: Well if you got this far you may as well review! I hope you all liked it. Admittedly it was a little rushed but I really wanted to get it posted to see what everyone thought. Should I continue? I apologize if it was a little everywhere. But I must say I am proud to have uploaded something. (I nearly sprained my arm patting myself on the back in congratulations!)**

**Randomness:**

**Shin: a device for finding furniture in the dark.**


	2. Finding Emeralds

**Authors note: Hello everyone thanks to Angelauthor14, Charmedaddict08, Mizzdrwhoharrypotter, Taeniaea, Panther73110 and Miya Sparrow for their reviews *hugs* I'm glad you took the time to review. Here is the second chapter, I hope you all like it, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I do not own Harry Potter. It belongs to the ever fabulous J.K Rowling. **

**Prongs Palace:**

'James?' spoke Lily after a minute silence, he turned in answer, 'we have to find Harry, he's alive James,' her voice was thick with happiness and relief a smile slowly painting her features, 'our baby boy, he's alive' she repeated her voice louder, James grinned at her reaction, his insides doing flips just knowing that his emeralds was alive, and hopefully safe. He wanted to scream it to the world, and dance around the room like a maniac but restrained himself when Lily spoke again. 'Squeaky do you know what happened to him? Sirius couldn't raise him, not in Azkaban, maybe Remus?' she asked her voice alive with excitement, the elf shook her head 'Squeaky knows not where Harry is' Lily's face fell.

'Not too worry we can go to the order, ask them or maybe visit Remus?' James paused 'Um Squeaky, is the order of the phoenix still in business?' he asked rising from the stone floor to stand next to Lily, who still beamed despite Squeaky's answer.

'Squeaky is afraid she does not know Master James' replied the elf, huge orb like eyes looking at her feet. James sighed inwardly, how could Squeaky or Misjiff know what has happened in the last fourteen years, when they were not allowed to leave the house. He would have to assume they were still in business, and attempt to contact them to find out where his son was, although finding them would prove difficult.

'What are we going to do James?' asked Lily in defeat 'we are bought back to life, fourteen years after our deaths, we have not a clue as to where Harry is,' tears came to her eyes in mentioning Harry, 'and the order is either not in business or they are and we'll never be able to find them' she begun to sniffle, James wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders drawing her into him.

'It's going to be ok' he whispered into her hair, 'We are going to find the order, and locate Harry. Then we will be getting some answers as to why this has happened' she fell quiet after a moment. 'Maybe we should try Remus' house, that's if he lives there still' she suggested. James sensing that she wanted to know they were doing something to find their baby boy decided it was worth a shot. 'Alright,' he said releasing his grip on her 'but first we need to change out of these robes, we'll attract far too much attention' he gestured to the shabby, old and decaying robes that draped over his form, Lily agreed and they quickly headed upstairs to find some fresh close to wear, Squeaky and Misjiff at their heels.

**Four privet drive:**

'WHAT DID I TELL YOU BOY?' roared Vernon dursley as he advanced on his small nephew, Harry stood frozen in the middle of the kitchen. He had been working furiously for the past two hours, and yet had not managed to complete the list of jobs his uncle had given him. How could he, he had a broken ankle.

'YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS BOY, YOU HEAR ME' yelled his uncle, face turning a dangerous shade of plum, he raised his hand over his head and bought it down hard, 'No please uncle-' whimpered Harry before the blow hit him, sending his world black as his limp body fell to the floor, unmoving.

_Harry stood outside a house, the house in question was destroyed, ruined and looked as though it would collapse with the slightest breeze. The windows had been boarded up and the door was blocked with planks of wood that had been nailed to the door frame. _

_He approached the house, walking slowly, reaching out a pale, white hand, extending it toward the door. Held between the long fingers was a wand, a few whispered words and the planks of wood fell with a clatter to the ground._

_The door swung inward, revealing an almost demolished house, he felt excitement and anger rip through his body as he searched the rooms, first the kitchen then the living room and finally the bedrooms, but nothing came of it. And slowly the excitement left, leaving only a rage fiercer then a burning fire._

Harry awoke with pain coursing through his body, partly because of the beating he had just received from his uncle Vernon, but mainly from the dream, that was still vivid and fresh in his mind.

Pushing his hurting body from the bed he stood, swaying slightly as he walked towards his desk, adamant on informing Ron of his latest dream.

_Ron, _He started scribbling fast on the parchment.

_Have had another dream, this time about a house, it was destroyed and I was looking for something. But I don't know what. _Harry wasn't sure how to continue, he wanted to tell his friend that he was Voldemort, but knew it would sound completely insane, he had kept that bit of information to himself, and would continue doing so. The last thing he wanted was people being afraid he was mental. Deciding to leave it as it was he signed it, and gave it to Hedwig.

'Good girl, take this to Ron' he said as she flew out of the open window, into the dark and stormy night. Checking his alarm clock he was surprised to find he had only been out of it for an hour at the most.

He limped back to his bed, sitting down on it gratefully as he carefully inspected his ankle. It was swollen and bruised, he wonder briefly if there might be a chance that he could convince his aunt and uncle to take him to the hospital, but knew it was pointless. He had even thought of asking the Weasley if he could stay with them but knew that would be selfish, they would be busy especially since Voldemort's return and he didn't want to impose. 'Looks like I'm in for a painful summer' he said, resting back against the pillows. _More painful than most anyway_, he thought bitterly as his ankle gave a dull throb.

**Order of the phoenix headquarters: **

It was the early hours of the morning, but the residents and visitors at headquarters were all wide awake.

'Albus what is so important that you would wake us all up at three in the morning?' asked Minerva, her face showing irritation, a few others seated around the dining table murmured their annoyance, but soon quieted as the old headmaster raised a hand.

'There have been reports that lord Voldemort,' a collection of shudders went around the table, 'has paid a visit to Godric's Hollow' the witches and wizards were silent then one spoke up, 'And what does this mean?' asked a young witch from the far end of the table, many heads turned to look at her 'it means Nymphadora,' the woman hissed at the use of her first name, 'that he is looking for something, I have reasons to suspect that this is to do with the prophecy' he stated.

'But that doesn't make much sense, I mean why go to Godric's Hollow? What's his reason there?' asked the violet haired Tonks. The order agreed with this, some nodding some muttering, Albus held up his hands for silence once more.

'Alas I do not know,' he said gravely 'however I do intend on finding out'.

'And who saw him at Godric's Hollow?' questioned Sirius, the first signs of fear gripping his insides, 'An auror who was on a case happened to stumbled across him, he fire called me the minute he could' replied the old man.

'How do we know it was him Albus? He wouldn't want to be seen, he's been lying low since his return why would he allow himself to be seen now?' came Minerva's voice, Dumbledore's eyes twinkled a little, 'That is a mystery to all, however I think I am correct in saying that he was simply too preoccupied with the task at hand to notice he was being watched' he said deliberately leaving Minerva's first question out of his explanation, much to the deputy headmistresses annoyance, knowing she would get no more out of him she decided to remain quiet.

'Well what's the plan of action?' asked Sirius impatiently, 'first we find out what he was doing at Godric's Hollow, and if it has anything to do with the prophecy' stated Dumbledore simply.

**Prong's Palace: **

After some debate on what to wear, muggle or wizard clothing, Lily had won stating that they would look out of place with robes on, and Remus lived in a muggle neighborhood, James reluctantly agreed, he much preferred robes but knew she had a valid point. With Lily's help he was finally dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a plain black top, all in all he thought he looked pretty damn good, when telling Lily this she rolled her eyes at him. Lily with help from Squeaky had found a green dress that looked absolutely stunning on her; James expressed his liking of the dress with a slack jaw.

The couple stood in front of the large fireplace, silence between them. 'Should we go then?' asked Lily her voice quiet, James nodded then added 'you ready?' Lily chuckled 'no, but we are going to have to do this we have to for Harry'

The reason they were stalling was simple, they were unsure of what was to come, would Remus still live there, and if so would he have Harry, perhaps he didn't live there anymore, then what were they to do?

'Are you ready?' Lily repeated her husband's question; he shrugged but grabbed a handful of powder despite his growing apprehension. Lily slipped her hand in to his, squeezing it slightly.

'Good luck Master James and Lily, we will be missing you' called Squeaky from the stairs, Misjiff nodded in agreement. James smiled at the elves 'don't worry we'll be back' he promised.

James threw the dark powder shouting Remus address, green flames sprung to life, dancing merrily as Lily and James Potter took the first step in finding their baby boy, with in second they were gone.

**Remus' House:**

Remus Lupin was deep in thought, pondering over the information that Albus had revealed at the meeting. He was worried to a certain extend about what the evil wizard was after; it really didn't make sense that he would go to Godric's Hollow for something concerning the prophecy. Even if the old Headmaster had thought it could be possible, he, Remus, did not.

He decided not to dwell on it and instead picked up a book to read, however he never got far before the fire place roared to life, a flash of green brightening the room.

He looked up, 'It can't be' he said book falling to the floor from his limp hand as he stared at the forms of Lily and James Potter.

He had dreamt of this day a thousand times over, after Lily and James had been murdered his nights were filled with dreams of them returning from the dead, but never in a million years had he suspected it to happen, never. Yet here they stood, alive and breathing and in his living room.

'J-James?' he stuttered his voice raspy from shock, his friend grinned, 'How?' he managed to say after a moment's pause, James shook his head 'No idea' he said quietly, 'But we need your help Moony,' he continued, 'We need to find Harry' Remus nodded, understanding their hast yet he did not move, he couldn't, his whole being had been shocked into stillness as he stared at the raven haired James, and Emerald eyed Lily. They were back.

**Authors note: *Jumps up and down* Ok so I'm glad to have my second chapter up, what do you all think? Please review and tell me, if you have any suggesting I would LOVE to hear them. Hope you liked this chapter, until next time.**

**Ok for anyone who is wondering why James and Lily woke up in the house and not in graves, its because I have read a few fics that have them waking up that way, and I wanted this to be different. Plus they did die IN the house so I thought they may as well wake up there. Anyway just thought I'd clear that up. I have got a couple of reviews asking me about it.**

**-hogwarts-hero.**

**Randomness: **

**If someone has a mid-life crisis while playing hide and seek, does he automatically lose because he can't find himself?!**


	3. Finding Emeralds 2

_**Authors note: Hello again, I apologize for the wait; it seems that my writers block decided to attack! I have been puzzling over this chapter for SO long, and finally managed to get the first paragraph down… *sighs* Not to worry though, I battled with the writer's block to produce something for you all … I seem to have lost my style of writing *screams, chucks a tantrum!...recovers* anyway please enjoy and tell me what you think. **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or any other characters that belong to J.K Rowling. The poorly done writing however *raises hand* is mine, please go easy on me and the next chapter will be better. **_

**Four privet drive:**

The raven haired boy, known to most as Harry Potter, lay on his bed, bored out of his mind awaiting his owls return.

He had been studying the ceiling for the past few hours, trying to move as little as possible in order not to aggravate his broken ankle and suspected broken ribs, his "relatives" had left him alone since his beating, which he was grateful for, although the fact it was six thirty in the morning probably had something to do with his undisturbed time.

'Come on Hedwig, what's taking so long' he murmured under his breath, just as the words left his mouth a sharp tap sounded causing Harry to sit upright, much to his discomfort, 'Hedwig' he exclaimed shuffling over to the window as fast as possible.

He opened it slowly, careful not to hurt his aching ribs.

The snowy owl hooted happily as it nibbled at his finger, allowing him to untie the letter attached to her left leg.

_Harry, _It read, in Ron's scratchy writing.

_Don't know what your dream could have meant, maybe it was just a normal dream. _Harry frowned at this; it had defiantly meant something, although what continued to escape his knowledge, he read on. _Hermione's here, she say's hi by the way. I have to go, talk to you soon, Ron. _Harry turned the parchment over, hoping to find more writing on the back, but to no avail.

Disappointment turned to jealousy as he reread the letter, Hermione was there, and they were probably having the time of their life, while he was stuck with his "relatives" being pounded by his uncle's fists for the smallest of things, scrunching the letter up he threw it into the trash can, he didn't feel like writing back. He slowly made his way back to his bed, now awaiting his aunt, uncle and cousin to awake.

'Is it their mission in life to make my life hell' whether he was referring to his so called family or his two best friends he wasn't sure.

**Riddle Manor:**

The dark lord sat at the very end of a long oak table, back straight and red eyes gleaming menacingly, his faithful followers gathered at the table as well, many cowering in his presence with bowed heads and diverted eyes.

'Lucius' hissed the serpent like Voldemort, the man to his right jumped, twitching ever so slightly away from his master.

'Y-yes master' he replied, voice fearful.

'You will be in charge of finding the Potters and you will bring them to me once you have located and apprehended them, do you understand?' Voldemort's voice gave no room for augment, not that any would have dared anyhow.

The blonde haired man nodded 'of course master' he managed to keep his voice level.

'And what of the rest of us my lord,' asked a dark headed witch from the other end of the long table, her tone held more bravery than the former of lucius Malfoy. Voldemort turned to look at the once beautiful witch.

'The rest shall be assigned a job to do in time, for now we must concentrate on finding the Potters and the reason behind their sudden resurrection'

'And the prophecy,' questioned a male death eater by the name of Rookwood.

'The plan is set' was the short reply he received.

**Remus' House:**

'Moony?' questioned James; Remus knew he had been starring at James for a good five minutes, yet it seemed beyond him to look away, he couldn't move from shock and his voice had abandoned him. He wanted so much to embrace his friend to know that it was not a dream, that James would not fade away, but he was cautious, so many years as a werewolf had seen to that. He knew neither of a spell nor potion that could bring one back from the eternal sleep that is death yet here they stood, fourteen years after their down fall, alive.

'This is impossible' he breathed.

'Nothings impossible' was Lily's reply, James made a noise in his throat, Remus and Lily both turned to him.

'"Nothing's impossible", you say? Apparently you have never tried to slam a revolving door.'

'No,' started Lily 'only idiots do that' James gave her a reproachful look.

Remus suppressed a laugh, knowing full well only James could come out with something so... James-ish, He was almost as bad as Sirius, the keyword there being almost.

'It's really you' Remus stated, his honey colour eyes welling with tears, James nodded smiling slightly.

'Well,' said Remus voice tight with emotion 'Albus was wrong about it being the prophecy.' He said this more to himself than anybody else, he gave a small chuckle, the old man was rarely incorrect, yet this time he was far from the truth, although in all fairness, who could have predicted that James and Lily Potter would rise from the dead to walk amongst the living once more.

'Prophecy,' asked Lily as she took a seat on the worn couch.

'A glass sphere Lil's, one that holds the destiny, foretold by a seer, of one's future' James talked slowly as if speaking to a five year old. Lily in return rolled her eyes.

'It's not the time for joking James' she snapped, before turning to Remus, emerald eyes so much alike to her sons demanding answers. Remus sunk back into the arm chair, considering how to go about things. He knew that Lily and James more than likely knew nothing about the events of the past fourteen years, and wasn't sure if he should be the one to tell them.

He certainly didn't want to tell them about the prophecy just yet, although he didn't know the content it contained, Albus had been very secretive about that.

'What do you know about the last fourteen years, if anything?' he asked.

'Padfoot's in jail' blurted out James all humour gone from his voice, his eyes now over bright, Remus was taken by surprise, so they knew some things, just not the more recent happenings.

'Oh honestly James, of all the information we received from Squeaky and Misjiff you choose that' James pulled his best innocent face, which in truth was quite good.

'No' Remus said simply.

'No what?' asked James turning from his wife to meet Remus' eye.

'No James he isn't in prison he was, and he escaped around a year or so ago' James' mouth dropped, Lily gave a gasp.

'Paddy got out?' exclaimed James, eyes wide and jaw hanging low,

'Oh that's good that was eating at me, he didn't deserve that not when it was all _Peters _fault' Lily spat the traitors name with disgust, vowing silently to herself to be the one to finish him off for killing her and her husband, sending Sirius to prison and leaving her baby boy abandoned, parentless, she would have her revenge.

'How did he escape from Azkaban?' James asked voice full of curiosity 'no one has done that'

'Sirius didn't, but Padfoot did' Lily looked confused by Remus' words but James gave a chuckle.

'He turned into his animagus form and slipped past the dementors' summed up James, Remus nodded, Lily shook her head slightly, it was no secret that she disapproved of Sirius becoming an illegal animagus, and the other three for that matter.

'You went to Prongs Palace?' Remus question, the couple nodded.

'We had to get out of the house, it was boarded up so we flooed there, my idea may I add' said James as he perched on the small coffee table that sat in the middle of the room, his voice holding a more cheerful tone.

'You didn't wake up in graves, but in your house?' Remus asked, not entirely sure how that had happened, It seem far more sensible for them to have woken up in their graves, however he did not know what kind of magic they were dealing with, what magic allowed the dead to be awoken? Lily simply nodded not giving him any more information; perhaps she was just as confused by this as he was.

'Once we got there,' continued Lily as James continued to look smug over his idea of flooing to Prongs Palace 'we met up with Squeaky and Misjiff, they showed us an old daily prophet one that had an article about our death'

Remus has read that particular article, at the time the wound of Lily and James' death had been fresh and vivid in his mind he could barely get past the heading _**Potter's dead after horrific attack **_his knees had buckled when reading this. When he had read how Sirius has betrayed the couple and killed Peter rage had been the only thing his mind could fathom, years later he discovered it all to be a huge and costly mistake, or set up more like it.

'It said that Paddy was the one who betrayed us, how dense can that Rita Skeeter woman be' James' voiced, face showing disgust at how anyone could have believed Sirius had betrayed them.

'I believed it to be true,' Remus said in barely more than a whisper 'why didn't you tell me you had changed secret keeper?' his voice wasn't accusing but was firm all the same, he had been hurt when he found out that they had suspected him more than he would show.

Lily's face showed something close to pity and her expressive eyes were alive with regret.

'We thought you had been the spy, everyone did, it took a lot but even James was convinced' explained Lily, hand reaching out to clasp Remus' in hers.

'Sorry about that' Remus shrugged off James' apology, feeling stupid for bringing up old issues, especially in a situation like the one he was currently in.

'You said you wanted to find Harry?' asked Remus, noticeably changing the subject, knowing the couple wouldn't object if it had something to do with their son 'what do you want to know?'

'How does he look? He must be so grown up, is he tall? I was never overly tall, average I suppose, is he any good at quidditch? Or does he take after Lil's? She's hopeless on a broom,'

'James' exclaimed Lily, a smile came to Remus' lips as he watched the two.

'Well not hopeless, but you do spend more time on the ground then in the air,'

'James-'

'Ok so that's a little over exaggerated-'

'James Potter would you shut up,' said Lily, 'he means about where Harry is, not every detail about him'.

Remus chuckled, they hadn't changed a bit.

'So,' breathed James, excitement evident in his low voice 'where's prongslet?' he questioned, Remus saw Lily sit up straighter, eyes alert, he sighed.

'Harry's at number four privet drive' was his reply.

James gasped, the coffee table tipped and he landed on the floor with a thud.

Lily managed a more elegant 'shit' before rushing to her feet, just about over turning the couch in her hast.

'He's living with petunia and Vernon?' asked Lily loudly as Remus helped James up off the floor.

She didn't give him time to confirm 'we have to get him away from her; from them they hate our kind-' she rambled on, James sent Remus a look that plainly said "sorry about her" then approached his wife and grasped her hand in his, her rambling immediately ceased.

'Don't worry Lil's things will be just fine,' James said in a soothing voice, Remus smiled to himself he was all too use to Lily going into fits of near hysteria especially when Harry was concerned, many a times she would freak out about a lost bottle ("he's going to starve") although once James or Sirius would point out the spare bottles she would calm down.

'We have to get him away' she repeated quietly, this time Remus, who had been watching the exchange between the two, spoke up.

'Maybe we should go to Albus first-' He hadn't finished before a chorus of 'NO!' met his ears, he had expected that.

'We can call the knight bus, that'll take us to Harry' said James decisively.

Lily opened her mouth to disregard this, then paused 'that's actually not a bad idea,' James beamed and Remus couldn't help but roll his eyes at his friend.

He would have objected to them showing up at privet drive unexpected demanding to see their son; however he knew that as much as Harry would be shocked perhaps disbelieving of his parents return, he would in time accept it and would not be happy if Remus kept them from him. He also knew that the only way Harry would truly believe that Lily and James were back would be by seeing them with his own eyes.

'To privet drive' said James somewhat loudly, Lily smoothed her dress.

'To Harry' she said quietly, Remus echoed her and trio left the confines of the small house to wave down the night bus.

**Four privet drive:**

'BOY,' yelled Vernon Dursley, as he thundered up the stairs, he ripped at the locks that confined the freak to his room, he got the door open and stormed in, the boy was standing next to the bed, and Vernon was pleased to see he was rather pale.

'Yes uncle Vernon,' the boy's voice was much too calm, _we'll have to change that_, he thought as he approached the black haired teen.

He raised his right hand, bringing it down with as much force as he thought the boy could take without passing out, the sound of hand against cheek sounded loud, but the boy didn't scream, making it his duty to see to it that he did Vernon Dursley raised his arm once more.

And again,

And again,

Then the door bell rang.

**Authors note: *laughs evilly* you'll have to stick around if you want to see the confrontation, and a review wouldn't hurt! Anyway I hoped you liked this chapter, I am not sure if I may need to change the rating… if you think I do just let me know. And thanks to all who reviewed my second chapter, you know who you are, but just in case you have forgotten:**

**A huge thanks to Angelauthor14 (check out her stories, they are GREAT).**

**Charmedaddict08: what would I do without your quirky reviews? **

**Miya Sparrow, thanks for the two lovely reviews.**

**clhpfan12341234567: your review was short but sweet.**

**stefunny2010: *hugs* thank you.**

**10****th****Weasley: you are very kind thanks a lot.**

**majorbookluver: all will be revealed in future chapters! Thanks so much for your review.**

**grumpish-pko: thank you for the review and sorry about taking so long to update. **

**And thanks to those who read but don't review. *phew* that's all.**


	4. Finding Emeralds 3

_**Authors note: Hello to everyone, how are we all? Well I have finally got the fourth chapter up, I hope you all enjoy it and please REVIEW and tell me what you thought. Any way without further ado…**_

_**Here's the disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and the writing the rest belongs to J.K Rowling, now on with the story.**_

**Outside number four privet drive:**

With a defining bang, the violently purple, triple-decker knight bus stop in front of number four privet drive.

'righto 'ere we are' called Stan Shunpike as the two wizards and witch made their way unsteadily to the exit. It hadn't been a good ride; James had managed to sick up over the floor a total of four times, much to Lily's disgust.

The conductor, Stan, wouldn't shut up and annoyed Remus to no end with his constant chatter and remarking at how much James looked like Harry Potter, stating that he once transported Harry to the Leaky Cauldron, much to Remus' dismay he then realized that Lily shared the same eyes as Harry, luckily he didn't figure anything out, the last thing they wanted right now was the magical world to find out that Lily and James were alive and not five feet under.

Lily had been twice squashed by James who seemed to have lost all his bearings the second the knight bus had taken off, and finally upon reaching their destination James had collided with the window when the bus had suddenly stopped, Stan seemed to find this quite amusing.

'Thanks' mumbled James before tripping down the stairs and out of the door, landing heavily on the ground, Remus made a more delicate exit and jumped easily to the ground, holding out his hand to aid Lily.

'I hate riding the knight bus' commented Lily as Remus helped her off the purple vehicle, he nodded his agreement.

'Not the most pleasant of rides' he added with a slight smile.

'Ow' moaned James from the pavement.

XXX

After helping a queasy James to his feet the three went hastily to the front door, James' slack body a hindrance more than a help.

'James' an exasperated Lily sighed, pushing her husband up right, his eyes were unfocused and face pale, 'get a grip on yourself'

'He never was good at traveling by the knight bus' laughed Remus; Lily clucked her tongue watching as James tried to focus on her.

'I'm alright' James muttered, and then promptly fell to the ground, Lily rolled her eyes at him then turned to a chuckling Remus.

'Let's get this over with' she said approaching the door, it was clear that she was nervous, but Remus couldn't blame her, she hadn't seen her son since he was one years old, and now she was about to be faced with a fourteen year old adolescent. Remus nodded then proceeded to ring the door bell, James now uprooting the garden by grabbing a hold of plants to steady himself.

**Inside number four privet drive:**

Harry had braced his self for the blow; eyes shut tight and body tense, ready.

But it never came, his uncle sighed obviously disappointed with being interrupted glared at Harry who stood shakily next to the big man then stormed from the room, slamming the door loudly behind him.

With unsteady legs Harry attempted to head for his bed, but half way there his knees buckled as he collapsed to the floor, he was sure that his uncle had successfully managed to break at least three ribs, if possible made his ankle ten times worse, he had a split lip and blood wouldn't stop dripping from his aching nose, in short this had been the worst beating by far this summer.

Gritting his teeth painfully he forced his aching body to stand, swaying as he did so his head throbbed and ribs seared with pain, but he managed to make it to the wall which he slid down grateful to have the pressure of standing off his ankle, maybe he would try to make it to the bed later.

XXX

Vernon Dursley stood immobile as though if he stood really still the three visitors on the door step wouldn't notice him, however they did.

'Vernon Durlsey so nice to see you again' said the woman who was standing closest to the door way, her tone showing she was not in the slightest pleased to be in his company.

He knew who they were, freaks that's what. The younger two of the three were both wearing reasonable clothing; however the older man wore old brown robes.

'You're one of them, aren't you, you all are wizards' he hissed, something about them felt familiar.

'They are wizards,' stated the auburn haired lady pointing to her two companions a sandy hair man who nodded slightly and a raven haired man who seemed a little unsure of his footing 'I am a witch' she finished 'may we come in we have some business to be getting on with' Vernon didn't answer.

'Well, I shall assume you have invited me into your home' said the young woman as she pushed past a stunned Vernon and proceeded into the house, when he failed to give an answer.

The two men followed her lead.

'N-no' Vernon's voice was raspy, he cleared his throat 'I will not have you in my home, out now' he ordered much more clearly, the red head turned to him, that's when he noticed.

'Y-your eyes t-there his' he gasped, hand clutching his heart as who was standing in front of him suddenly struck him, her hair, her eyes but it couldn't be no it wasn't. But then it must be, Vernon had only seen her a few time in his younger years but she was someone not easy to forget.

Vernon Dursley opened his mouth, closed it then opened it once more only to let out a rather pathetic whine, he must be insane.

The woman otherwise known as Lily Potter smiled 'so I see you remember me' Vernon said nothing, but slowly started retreating backwards out of the room 'stay away from me freak' he hissed, the Potters were dead they had been killed, no one can come back to life, not even wizards, he knew that much.

'I swear I won't hesitate to defend myself'

'Don't threaten her or you'll have me to deal with' growled the dark haired man; Vernon knew as James, the sandy haired man stepped next to James and placed his hand on his forearm in a calming gesture.

'We are not here to harm you Mr. Dursley,' stated the robed man 'please don't be difficult'

Vernon spluttered, 'difficult, DIFFICULT?' his voice raised 'YOU'RE THE ONES WHO COME GALABANTING INTO MY HOME WITH OUT MY PERMISION' he yelled

'Where is Harry?' the older man asked voice calm, despite Vernon's outburst.

Vernon shook his head fiercely fear building in his stomach, making him feel queasy 'I don't know what you're talking about, no Harry Potter lives here, now if you would leave or I will call the-'

'DON'T LIE' bellowed James advancing on the hastily retreating man 'tell me where he is now or I'll blast you into next week'.

Vernon shuddered.

'He's not going to tell us' came the soft voice of the sandy haired man, Lily nodded 'maybe he needs some persuading' she looked thoughtful, James grinned evilly 'yes that will do the trick' he then turned on Vernon and stared muttering under his breath.

'OK,' yelled the cowering Dursley 'the boy's up stairs'

The three visitors set off at a run, brushing past Vernon who leaned heavily on the wall, breaths coming in sharp gasps.

He just hoped that they would be done with their "business" before Petunia and Dudley got back from the shop.

XXX

Harry was sitting on the floor his back to the wall, knees drawn up to his chest. He found this position easy to handle due to the fact he could remain still and not aggravate his ankle, ribs or any other injury he had received.

He had been pondering about writing to Ron, but what would he say.

_Hey Ron, just been bashed senseless by my uncle, can you help me out, hope you are well, Harry._

No, he would stick out the rest of the summer, maybe his uncle would leave him alone for a few days.

Trying not to cause any pain to his ribs Harry slowly started to climb up the wall, attempting to get back to his bed he really wasn't feeling well, his head pounded and his body ached and throbbed with pain, maybe a lie down would be for the best.

Clenching his jaw Harry staggered to his bed, flopping on to the mattress with a sigh which quickly turned into a groan as his ribs sparked with pain.

'Damn it' he muttered before sinking into blackness, he was vaguely aware of voices, loud panicked voices but couldn't bring himself to stop his decent into the darkness of unconsciousness.

XXX

'PRONGSLET' yelled James dashing forward as he spotted the limp form on the bed, Lily and Remus mirroring James' action also made for the bed.

There was no mistaking that it was Harry, the untidy jet black hair was all that was needed to confirm it was his son, his baby boy.

He gently grabbed the boy's shoulders and turned him over, so that he could see his face.

James gasped eyes wide with shock and horror; his sons face was a mess, blood was trickling from his nose and lip as newly formed bruises along his jaw line stood out against his pale skin.

'Oh my-' breathed his wife from his left, her eyes turning over bright before leaking tears that slowly fell, James wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her closer, both for her comfort and his own.

Remus, who stood to his right was pale, eyes staring at the unmoving form of his former student.

'James he was beaten' cried Lily quietly into his shirt, anger hit James like a boxer would his opponent, making him shake in uncontrolled rage.

'That bloody BASTED' and with that James was out of the room and down the stairs, yelling for Vernon Dursley.

'James-' sobbed Lily before she too paced out of the room, in search of her husband and her son's attacker, Remus followed after he had moved Harry properly onto the bed a frown on his features.

XXX

'VERNON' howled James as he entered the living room; he smiled in a deranged way as he approached the big man who stumbled backwards fear apparent on his pale face.

'S-stay away f-from me you f-freak' stuttered Vernon as he grabbed a holed of a vase that sat on the small coffee table, waving it above his head in warning.

James gave a bark of laughter 'you're the freak Dursley, you're the one who bashed an innocent boy, my son Vernon and you will pay you hear me' his voice was loud, near hysterical.

Vernon's eyes widened as the raven haired man came closer, eyes narrowing.

'I'll call the police, if you use your freak abilities on me'

'I highly doubt that the police would believe you Vernon, and I don't plan to use my "freak abilities" on you,' Vernon froze 'I would prefer to rip you limb from limb with my bare hands-' then James lunged, hand tight around the mans beefy neck.

'JAMES' screamed Lily rushing into the room, Remus at her heels.

'James stop it' he called, although he made no move to stop the fight between Vernon and his friend.

'You will pay for this you basted' James muttered through clenched teeth, fist connecting hard with Vernon's temple, the man gave a yell of fury sending his fist painfully into James' ribs, there was a crack but James did not let up, instead he doubled his attack fighting tooth and nail to draw blood from the hated man.

Lily sighed in exasperation then left the living room, much to Remus' confusion.

He watched on until the fight turned and James was in need of some assistance, he took it upon his self to be this assistance and quickly engaged in the fight.

'GET OFF ME YOU PHSYCOPATHS' roared Vernon as he swung the vase down with as much force as possible, it collided painfully with Remus' head, he staggered but regained control enough to miss the coffee table when he fell heavily to the floor, not unconscious but very near.

'Remus-' breathed James but was cut off when a fat hand grabbed his throat constricting his breathing.

Vernon Dursley rammed the struggling man into the wall, causing hanging pictures to fall and shatter as they hit the floor, he raised his hand ready to strike, and James kicked out, but it was neither James nor Vernon's blow to hit first, but Lily's.

With all her strength Lily flung the china plate she had collected from the kitchen, at the huge man who was currently chocking her husband, the plate hit its target and Vernon went down, eyes glassy and bemused at to what had happened.

'Do I have to do all the work?'

James gave a sheepish smile 'I had it under control Lil's' Lily scoffed, Remus groaned from the floor.

It was only then did the couple notice another presence in the room.

'Harry' breathed James.

_**Authors note: What did you think? Well whatever it was review and tell me I'd love to hear from you all.**_

_**Quick thanks to all who reviewed my last chapter, *hugs all*.**_


	5. Fights and more fights!

_**Authors note: Hey all! How have you been? Well this chapter took a while to come up didn't it in my defense it was Christmas and I was busy stuffing myself with food! It's up now though so I hope you enjoy. Thanks to those who reviewed my last chapter *hugs*.**_

_**Disclaimer: The magical world of harry potter belongs to J.K Rowling, as I am not her, it is not mine *sobs*.**_

_Previously:_

'_Do I have to do all the work?' _

_James gave a sheepish smile 'I had it under control Lil's' Lily scoffed, Remus groaned from the floor._

_It was only then did the couple notice another presence in the room._

'_Harry' breathed James._

**Inside number four privet drive:**

Harry, who had entered the living room after waking to hear a commotion said nothing, did nothing but took in the sight before his eyes.

The unconscious form of his uncle, blood caked on the back of his head, as he lay limp on the floor, face impassive. The man who looked so much alike to him staring, hazel eyes never leaving Harry's face, the young woman with fiercely auburn hair helping a disorientated Remus to his feet, Harry knew who they were, he had studied the photo album Hagrid had gave him at the end of first year enough times to know how his parents looked.

Time seemed to stand still as Harry's eyes locked with those of his fathers, hazel and emerald both over bright with unshed tears. But this was impossible his parent could not be back, as much as Harry wanted to believe it, as much as he wished with all his heart that he could embrace his mother and father to tell them he missed them and loved them, he knew he couldn't, no he could, he just wouldn't.

What if they were taken away… again?

What if they didn't want him?

What if this was all a dream? Was he still unconscious?

His legs refused to move, even the few paces towards his father, his mind was numb as was his body, how was he suppose to react to something like this, the only way he knew how.

He ran.

XXX

James had expected something like this to happen, he could see it coming even before his young son had decided to run, James knew all too well how to read the expressive green eyes, he had a lot of experience with Lily when they were at school and after they married.

Lily gave a small sob, James under stood she was worried and hurt, but he stopped her following Harry with a simple hand on her shoulder, she immediately turned into him, arms around his neck in a tight hug.

'Don't worry Lil's I didn't expect him to take it well,' Lily nodded her agreement into his neck 'neither did I' she mumbled quietly, ' maybe Remy can go and talk to him, explain things a little better' James looked hopefully over at his friend who had recovered from the fight, Remus nodded slightly then headed for upstairs.

'I hope Harry is alright' Lily whispered as she released her husband, James gave a weak smile 'He'll be fine once the shock wears off' Lily looked disbelieving, but returned the smile nervously.

XXX

As much as Remus could understand Harry's actions he was also a little frustrated that the teen had ran off, it made things a lot more difficult. Although he couldn't fully blame Harry for his impulsive action, he himself had felt liking running when James and Lily had flooed into his living room; the only thing that had kept him grounded had been the utter madness of the situation that and the shock that had coursed through his body.

Remus neared the room that contained Harry, slightly surprised to hear soft crying coming from inside.

'Harry?' he spoke quietly not wanting to startle the boy, he entered the room to find Harry lying face down on his bed, much the same as when he had been unconscious, this time however he shook with sobs.

'Harry?' he questioned hesitation in his voice, 'are you ok?' Remus wasn't quite sure how to go about comforting Harry, he had very little experience with children, aside from his brief teaching period in Harry's third year, but even then there had been no crying student to attend to. Harry didn't respond but buried his head into the pillows.

Deciding that standing there like an idiot wasn't helping matters; Remus sat down on the bed next the Harry, and carefully pulled him into his arms, still unsure of what to do, he held Harry firmly but gently.

'I know that you are shocked Harry,' Remus said in barely more than a whisper 'but you must pull yourself together, your parents are back and they want to see you Harry, to meet you' the sobs soon ceased.

'I don't want to lose them again' hiccoughed Harry, as he clung to his former teacher.

'I can understand that Harry, I really can, and all I can offer you as comfort is that in the here and now your mother and father are alive and breathing,' he paused as Harry pulled back emerald eyes bright with tears looking into his own 'don't take it upon yourself to worry about them, Lily and James are stronger than you think, they can look after their selves' Harry gave a watery smile before blushing and moving from Remus' arms.

'There's no shame in needing comfort Harry' said Remus as he got to his feet.

'I don't deserve it-' Harry broke off, staring at his feet, Remus wondered why he didn't feel he deserved comfort, in the end putting it down to the most likely of causes, Vernon Dursley, suddenly an unconscious Vernon didn't seem nearly as satisfying, what had he done to Harry, aside from the obvious beatings, to make him so untrusting, and so believing that he deserved all the hurt in his life, and why hadn't Remus picked up on it when he had taught Harry in his third year.

'Do you think they will be mad?' Harry asked innocently, if not slightly fearful, 'that I ran off I mean' he added.

'Of course not Harry, why would you think that?' Remus was fighting the impulse to deal with Vernon Dursley more aggressively, and even considered dealing out his punishment on the full moon, he discarded this idea however knowing that James and Lily would want an alive Vernon getting their fair share of revenge, a china plate to the head was hardly enough.

Harry gave a hesitant smile, 'C-can I see t-them?' he asked in a small voice, eagerness clear in his eyes.

Remus nodded, 'are you certain that you are up for it Harry?' he asked, taking in the cuts and bruises that littered the teens arms and face, not to mention his rather clammy, pale complexion.

'Yes' was the short reply.

XXX

'What do we do if Harry doesn't want to see us?' worried Lily as she paced the room, dodging Vernon's unconscious form as she did so, James had given up long ago in his attempts to make her sit still and now watched as she paced the length of the room and back, expressing a fearful question every now and then.

He was just about to answer when another voice sounded in the room.

'I do want to see you' was the softly spoken words.

'Harry' Lily gasped quietly, joy evident in her hushed voice, James turned in his seat to see his son who stood at the door way, posture slightly nervous and unsure, Remus behind him wearing a small smile.

His father sat just meters from him, almost a mirror image of Harry himself, save for the height difference and the eye colour, James was just as immobile as his son, eyes never straying from Harry's form, face showing a mixture of sadness and inexpressible happiness.

His mother stood near the fire place, eyes over bright with unshed tears body tense from nerves and eyes gazing almost it seemed to Harry, lovingly in his direction, a smile gracing her delicate features.

'I'm sorry about running off like that' James stood up, not approaching the teen, careful not to startle his son in anyway.

'Don't be sorry Harry, we understand you were shocked' replied Lily who slowly came forward to stand next to James, Harry stood still, not game to approach to two who stood before him, his parents were back and he was not going to take it for granted and be fearful of losing them, he would take the events to follow as they came, for now all that mattered was that his mother and father were very much alive and from what Lupin had said they wanted to get to know him.

An over whelming desire to run to them pushed at his body, and deciding this was no time to be stuck in an awkward silence, one where no one moves, the slightest sound will make you jump, breathing is far too noisy and the smallest distraction it a blessing from god, he did the only thing he could do to not wind up in that kind of situation… he ran.

James was shocked when Harry advanced towards him at a run, successfully embracing him in a hug after three strides, almost winding him as Harry's body collided with his own.

Pure instinct took over as James held his son close, one hand around Harry's too thin waist and the other cradling his sons' head, small sobs, barely audible came from his son 'don't cry emeralds' he whispered softly, although he himself was close to tears. For James it had not been long since he had last held his son, seeming only hours, but for Harry… James knew it had been a lot longer, years in fact.

Harry soon pulled back, eyes leaking tears of joy as he gazed adoringly up at his father, before his eyes were directed at Lily, quickly she threw her arms around him, drawing him close mother and son both clutching at one another as though the other would disappear.

So many questions came to Harry, making him bite his tongue to hold the flow of words from spilling from his mouth, for now he was content just to relax in his mothers hold, and although his injuries flared with the close contact he paid no never mind, nothing would tear him away from his mother, not the searing pain that stabbed at his ribs, nor the fact he was putting most his weight on his mother, because he was unable to stand fully on his broken ankle, he felt safe in her arms and that was all that mattered.

As the two hugged, neither wanting to end the hug the front door opened, revealing more trouble.

'Vernon? We're home' sang Petunia Dursley as she and her son entered the house.

'Crap' was the dull reply from James, knowing that they would somehow have to explain to Petunia why her husband was out cold on the living room floor, why a very pricey vase was shattered and the biggest of all… why her dead sister and brother in law were back from the dead.

XXX

Petunia Dursley gave a shriek as she came face to face with an unknown stranger 'what are you doing in my house' she knew her voice was fearful, as she desperately tried to shield her son from the strangers view… she failed with this particular task.

The man who stood in the door way of the lounge room held his hands up in a surrender 'I assure you we are not here to hurt your family,' there was a pause 'well, you and your son anyway, the same cannot be said for your husband, as long as you don't plan to choke any of us you will be fine' Petunias eyes widened.

Picking up on the strangers use of "we" and "us" Petunia panicked'There are more?' she froze, face whitening considerably 'you're robbing me, oh god,' she clutched at her heart, very much the same way her husband had done earlier 'what have you done to Vernon' in a blind panic she rushed forward pushing past the sandy haired man none to gently, upon entering the living room she came to an abrupt stop as she came face to face with,

'Lily' she breathed, her eyes rolled, knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor, mimicking her husband's current position.

XXX

'Should we attempt to wake her up?' questioned James as he and Remus bent over the blonde woman.

'Don't' came a quiet voice from behind him, James turned to see his son looking down at his aunt, eyes betraying nothing but contempt, face cleared of any emotion, feeling a sudden urge to cuddle his son James reached up and carefully took his prongslet into his arms, Harry had no objections to this, but James knew he was unsure of his intentions, pride at the fact his son trusted him after so little amount of time together made James smile into Harry's raven hair.

'How about we get Harry fixed up?' Lily suggested pointing to Harry's numerous bruises.

'And deal with Dudley' she added as an afterthought as she looked at the large boy that was crying in the hallway, whether because his mother had just past out or the fact they were blocking the way to the kitchen she didn't know, but guessed it was the latter when a low rumble that could only be his stomach sounded.

Remus nodded 'Lily why don't you take Harry upstairs and cast a few healing charms on the injuries you can heal, James you stay with Petunia in case she wakes up, also deal with Dudley and I'll visit Arabella Figg' He smiled slightly at James' expression of having Harry taken out of his arms by Lily, who headed upstairs after accepting Remus' wand he offered her.

'We really must get wands' James said quietly a thoughtful expression on his face, he turned to Remus 'why are you going to Arabella's?' he asked curiously.

'To find out more information on what has been going on in this house, if any one would know it would be her, and I would prefer to know what Harry has been through no matter how horrific' Remus answered.

'I'm coming with you' James stood up from his position on the ground.

'No you stay here with Petunia, if she wakes up you'll need to explain things to her, as much as you can anyhow'

'I want to help Harry' stated James somewhat pathetically.

Annoyed hazel eyes met reasoning honey, James sighed.

'Fine'

Remus smirked, and then left with no further words as James slumped into a chair, thoroughly upset about having to baby sit Lily's sister while the other two done something constructive and helpful.

XXX

Lily having persuaded Harry to let her examine his injuries was in no mode to be reasonable, cursing Vernon Dursley and everyone who associated with the whale of a man to hell, she got to work healing her sons badly bruised body careful not to cause him pain in doing so, vowing to also have justice on Vernon as well as petunia, for although there was no proof she was certain that her sister had played a big part in Harry's mistreatment, the look on Harry's faced matched her own somewhat when she was younger. Petunia was always the popular one, always the one to have more friends and too many boyfriends to count, Lily was forced to live in her shadow, she and Petunia were close and were often seen together, but they were different and not just because Lily was a witch. Their personalities clashed on many occasions, Lily being smart and care free while Petunia was just that tiny bit dense and always worried of what was to come, this rarely damaged their closeness; however things changed when Lily received her Hogwarts letter.

**Flashback:**

'Tunney, Tunney' called an eleven year old Lily, running inside a letter clutched tightly in her hands.

The blonde that had just hung up the phone, after taking nonstop for the past two hours, more than likely gossiping to one of her friends about a boy she liked, turned to face the red head who was bouncing on her tiptoes in excitement.

'What is it Lil's?' she said almost impatiently but her tone held a gentleness, the greened eyed girl grinned, Petunia raised an eye brow.

'Well? You going to tell me or do you want me to guess?' she asked, an amused smile playing on her lips.

'I'm a witch!' was Lily's loud squeal as she dashed around the room, reciting the letter word from word.

Petunia laughed as her sister danced merrily around the room, 'show me the letter' she requested slightly intrigued, after reading the letter the amused smile was quickly erased from her lip, and soon a number of emotion past across her face, confusion, denial, anger and then finally jealousy.

'Why aren't I one?' she demanded to Lily who shrugged and rushed from the room to show her parents, unhearing of the hissed word that came from Petunia.

'Freak'

**End flashback.**

After that particular day Petunia was never kind to Lily, on occasions she would listen to her talk excitedly about the magical world, of owls that delivered letters, of floating candles, spells and enchantments, ghosts that roamed the corridors of the massive castle, of all the different types of lessons that were taught and the most talked about subject, the marauders.

'Are you ok Lily…? I mean mum?' Harry's quiet voice pulled Lily from her thoughts; she nodded as she cast another healing charm.

'I'm fine sweetheart' she replied with a sad smile, 'just thinking of the past' in saying this Lily realized that she had absolutely no idea of Harry's past, of his experiences at Hogwarts…nothing.

She decided not to ask for now, forcing herself to focus on the job at hand.

XXX

It had been only a bit over ten minutes and already James was bored of his situation, Petunia was still out of it, as was Vernon and Dudley was still bawling his eyes out.

'Crying like a baby won't help matters you know' he said to the teenager who was still in the hallway, despite James saying he was allowed to pass. The blonde ignore him, just as he had done the other three times James had spoken to him.

'If you are hungry you may pass, just stop crying I'm not going to do anything to you' he said in exasperation, his statement was met with more silence, aside from Dudley's whimpers.

Giving a long sigh James stood, fully intending on going to find Lily and Harry, a voice however stopped him.

'Don't speak to my son like that, you ungrateful freak' James spun around to come face to face with a very disgruntled Vernon Dursley, 'It's your son that cries in the middle of the blasted night, he's the cry baby' the man spat.

'Oh good, for a minute there I thought you had fallen asleep, you were out for quite some time' although James' voice was cheerful it held a warning. This did not deter Vernon as he advanced on James face purpling.

'Easy now, we don't want Lily to smash another plate over your he-' before James could finished a beefy fist had collided with his jaw, resulting in James being forced to the ground, he kicked out his leg as Vernon made to come at him, successfully managing to send the big man stumbling backwards, how many times would he have to fight the man.

'DADDY' yelled the blonde boy from the hallway, yet he made no move to assist his father, but sat gazing at the two men who were now rolling around the floor, yelling insults at one another, fist flying in every direction.

'ENOUGH' bellowed another voice, a woman's, Vernon and James turned to see Petunia Dursley scrambling to her feet, face livid.

'Stop it both of you, you are acting childish and immature,' she growled voice loud and commanding.

Vernon hesitated then pushed James from him, both looking ashamed but not at all sorry for their actions.

'What's going on here' questioned Lily as she and Harry came down the stairs, Petunia refused to answer as she glared at James. Vernon however did answer.

'I was just beating some sense into this low life, maybe now he'll realize he was better off dead' this comment was enough to send the room into more chaos as Harry charged for his uncle, uncaring if Vernon was much bigger and stronger, only wanting to cause pain.

Lily screamed in anger, expressing her fury with a shout of spells.

Petunia ran for cover as she and Dudley took off up the stairs.

And James dived for Vernon who was man handling his son.

XXX

Remus Lupin entered the front door of number four privet drive to find a very chaotic scene in front of him.

Lily was letting off as many spells and hexes as one could possibly do while throwing ornaments and other objects at the huge man in front of her.

James was punching furiously at Vernon, who in turn was scuffing Harry, Harry was not taking kindly to this and was doing everything in his power to cause pain the his uncle.

Petunia and the other boy was nowhere to be seen, however they were the last two people on Remus' mind.

Quickly as he could Remus rushed towards the fray, heading for Lily who was now destroying most of the Dursley's possessions by chucking them around the room, she really did look psychotic.

Upon reaching the frantic woman he did the only thing he could to ensure the safety of those in the room, confiscated the wand. Lily looked slightly miserable at his actions but had no time to dwell on it as Vernon gave a yell of fury, sending James into the wall and Harry to the ground, the man looked livid, face purple and eyes glaring, his breaths coming in noisy gasps.

The beefy man turned on Harry, 'you are to blame for this entire madness, freak' he snarled 'you will pay' he continued through gritted teeth, Harry who was hindered by the injuries that Lily had not managed to heal, sat frozen staring up at the murderous man.

'I'm sorry-' he managed to say in a small voice, before his uncle raised his hand.

'STUPEFY!'

Yelled Remus, sending a stunning spell into Vernon's chest, the man keeled over immediately, landing heavily on the ground.

Lily went straight for her son, who flinched slightly as she hugged him, but soon relaxed, James came over to Remus, who stood panting.

'What did Arabella say?' he asked quietly, eyes never leaving his wife and son.

'I'll inform you later, for now I think we should leave before any more _madness_ happens' replied Remus who pocketed his wand.

James nodded his agreement.

_**Authors note: So there you are another chapter finished, if you are reading this then you must have like the story somewhat to get to the end, if that was the case please review and tell me what you thought, if you have any questions you may ask me, although I may not be able to answer all, in case it will give away the plot. Also ideas for the Dursley's punishment are welcome, sorry if this chapter went on a bit, I was in a writing mood and just kept on going *grins* anyway I hope you enjoyed it and please, please *begs* review.**_


	6. To Hogwarts

_**Authors note: Hey there everyone, here is chapter six for you all, I hope you enjoy and leave a review. If you have any questions feel free to ask, I don't mind.**_

_**Disclaimer; I do not own Harry Potter.**_

The three wizards and single witch left number four privet drive shortly after reviving Vernon Dursley from the stunning spell; much to the disappointment of Harry and James, Lily wasn't too pleased suggesting they leave him that way for the rest of his life.

'What are we going to do now?' inquired Harry trailing behind the werewolf as he walked briskly down the street, feeling free for once in his life; although he wasn't sure how long that would last. For all he knew he would be sent back to the Dursley's in a few hours; his stomach squirmed at the prospect of returning to his aunt and uncle, no, he would not go back; no matter what.

'We are going to catch the Knight bus' informed Remus who was leading the group with quick strides. Harry grimaced, he didn't like the Knight bus all that much; but he wouldn't complain, complaining would get him nowhere.

'Where are we going?' Harry questioned again, jogging a little to keep up with his former professor but staying just a bit behind in order to be closer to his parents who were bringing up the rear; both talking quietly and occasionally sending him a small smile or glancing casually in his direction.

'We are going to Hogs mead then from there we will make for Hogwarts' replied the sandy haired man, stopping abruptly and causing the teen to stumble backwards in order not to collide with him. Remus gave an apologetic smile, then stuck out his wand; flagging down the Knight bus.

With a violent bang the purple Knight bus stopped on the curve. A spotty teen jumped down the stairs coming face to face with the group; he grinned at the sight of Harry before addressing him with a smile 'hullo Harry' he said, 'hi' Harry replied somewhat quietly.

He remembered Stan from his first time on the Knight bus, back in his third year; Stan was the one who informed him of Sirius Blacks escape. Although at the time he was under the impression his godfather was out to kill him.

Stan cleared his throat before saying 'I'm Stan Shunpike, and I'll be your conductor for this evening,'

'Actually,' cut in James 'It's still only morning-' he trailed off after Lily shot him a glare.

Stan didn't seem fazed. Instead he moved aside letting them board the bus, holding his hand out for Lily kindly; she smiled brightly in return with a quiet 'thank you'. James eyes narrowed but he said nothing, Remus just shook his head a slight smile on his lips.

The Knight bus was not as Harry remembered it; instead of the large beds it had an array of arm chairs, couches, bean bags and even a rocking chair.

'DIBS!' James yelled jumping into a particularly squishy bean bag, ginning.

Harry ran to the one beside James' which was almost identical save for the colour which instead of being blue was a bright red. Lily smiled at her husband and sons actions, before racing Remus to a very beautiful looking leather arm chair; Remus won so she perched on a lime green sofa, making her dress blend in with the material of the couch.

Stan watched this with some amusement before taking a seat as well 'Righto,' he called once everyone was comfortable 'take it away earn' and with that said the bus took off with another defining bang.

XXX

Upon reaching Hogs mead the three adults and teen made their way towards Hogwarts castle, walking through the near empty streets.

Lily was leading the way, a fair bit in front of her husband and Remus, who were chatting to one another. Lily guessed about what Arabella Figg had to say on Harry's upbringing; she would inquirer later on, but for now she had one Albus Dumbledore to attend to. And so help anyone one who got in her way.

'Lily…I mean mum?' Lily turned to her son, who sounded unsure of how to address her; she smiled at the sight of him staring avidly at her.

'Yes Harry…I mean son' she teased lightheartedly, the teen stuck his tongue out at her; before quickly running ahead. Lily laughed before making chase, giggling as she ran to catch up to her son.

Harry slowed to allow her to catch up; she quickly grabbed him in a hug/tackle embrace, both laughing breathlessly from running. 'Two can play at that game mister' Lily quipped, before mirroring her sons actions minutes before and sticking her tongue out then bolting away, leaving Harry to run after her.

The game had no real aim to it; in fact all it consisted of was poking your tongue out and running. It was a start thought Lily, at least Harry trusted her enough to muck around with her; she wondered if Harry knew that she and him would play that when he was younger. Perhaps not, either way it reminded her of the times when baby Harry would come crawling over and with a squeal of laughter poke out his tongue; then hurriedly crawl away as fast as his little legs would allow.

She smiled reminiscently at the fond memory.

Then remembered why Harry had come to her she asked;

'What was it you were going to asked Harry?' the boy shrugged, 'it doesn't matter'.

A frown marred Lily's appearance, 'of course it does sweetheart, what was it?' she said kindly. Harry looked up at her; eyes curious. Lily had the distinct feeling he was wondering why she even cared what he had to say. Never the less he spoke up.

'I was just thinking why you wanted to go to Hogwarts' he said voice low, almost un-hearable. Had the Dursley's punished him for asking question? She inwardly gasped; if they had they deserve much more than a scare and some bruises.

'Your father and I want to have some words with Albus, that's all' she answered, smiling at her son who nodded at her answer.

'What are you going to talk to him about?' the question was hesitant, slowly spoken; almost as if it had been drawn from his lips without his consent. Lily could hear the fear that laced his tone; clenching her fists she cursed her sister and Vernon.

'First of all why and how we are back, although I doubt he'll have many answers,' she begun sighing 'also about the fact he left you with the Dursley's, he'll regret that decision' she knew her voice was harsh but couldn't help it; the anger she felt towards the man who had condemned her baby boy to almost fifteen year with that wretched family, was beyond anything she had felt before; second only to the hatred of the Dursley's.

'Don't worry,' she added as her son looked panicked 'we won't say or do anything rash, just what it needed to be said.'

They walked for in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, Harry watching the few people in the street go about their daily activities; blind to the reappearance of Lily and James Potter. Lily was watching her son, noticing he looked so much like James now that he was grown up; yet of course he had her eyes, she wouldn't pretend that she wasn't starring; each time Harry looked in her direction she kept her eyes firmly on him, they would exchange a smile then Harry would turn back to watching the people.

'You know you were actually suppose to go and live with Sirius if anything happened to James and I' stated Lily quietly, she saw her son smile sadly.

'Too bad he went to Azkaban for going after Peter Pettigrew' he sighed, she nodded her agreement; scowling a little at the mention of the _traitor_.

'Lucky that he escaped though' she added.

'He was the first ever to escape from the prison' said Harry, a hint of pride for his godfather evident in his tone.

Lily laughed 'trust Sirius to be the first to ever succeed escaping that place' Harry chuckled quietly next to her. They walked on in another silence for a good while before Harry spoke up;

'I bet James…well dad, will be pleased to see him again' he looked up at Lily who gave a nod.

'He will be over the moon to see him' Lily smiled brightly as they neared the gates of Hogwarts.

XXX

Setting her jaw Lily knocked on the oak door. She and James stood outside the headmasters' office; they had left Harry with Remus, not wanting him to get involved with this particular event.

'Enter' the old voice of Albus Dumbledore said.

The witch and wizard pushed opened the door, stepping over the threshold into the headmasters' decorated office; Albus sat at his desk, head down, reading an old and worn book.

James and Lily approached the wooden desk, earning a few shouts from the portraits that recognized who they were;

'Lily and James Potter,' breathed one painting of a witch; with blonde curly hair that draped over the chair she was sitting in 'my, my never thought I'd see you again'.

Albus Dumbledore looked up quickly, eyes wide; it was plainly obvious he had not expected it to be them who had entered his office, perhaps Minerva.

'Lily,' he said voice quiet, he turned to James eyes wide. 'But how' he asked, in awe. James shrugged, Lily shook her head.

'We don't know, that's why we are here; amongst other reason' James added with a slightly darker tone. The old headmaster stood abruptly coming around his desk to stand in front of the couple. He reached out a hand to touch James' arm as if seeing if he were a solid object.

'I want to know why Albus' stated James somewhat harshly. Albus looked at the man that stood before him, blue eyes penetrating; James stared back.

An understanding of what James meant past between them in an instant.

'I had no choice, you must understand that-' he begun.

'No choice?' Lily's voice was sharp and clear 'Albus, do you know what they did to him?'

Albus slowly shook his head 'no' was his simple answer.

'They bet him, and starved him they're terrible, terrible people Albus and you sent our son to live with them, wasn't there another option?' cried Lily, eyes blazing with hurt and betrayal as well as pain for her son.

'What could I have done, there are blood wards that are protecting him at number four privet drive, plus the boys godfather was in Azkaban and Remus is hardly in any position to raise a child.'

'What about Frank and Alice Longbottom? They would have raised him' James said loudly. Albus' head dropped face somber. He raised his face to look at the raven haired man.

'Frank and Alice Longbottom are in St. Mungos' he said sadly, James stood frozen.

Lily gasped 'what happened?' she asked moving closer to her husband in support. The Potter and Longbottoms where close before the death of Lily and James, Alice and Lily had been friends at school.

'Bellatrix Lestrange tortured them into madness.' Dumbledore stated voice hollow; Lily gave a sob as James wrapped his arm around her shoulder, what else had changed since their death?

XXX

Over the next hour Lily, James and Albus discussed what Albus had done to Harry by sending him to live with his aunt and uncle; James cursed a fair bit, while Lily tried hard not to destroy the old man's possessions, Albus took everything that came at him with calmness, knowing that he deserved all of it, if not more.

They also discussed Harry's future. All three knowing there was no way that they could send the teen back to the Dursley's.

By ten past eleven they had decided on an arrangement. The couple left the large office with a rather cold goodbye, however once outside the door they couldn't help but smile, James jumping in the air and "whooping" loudly.

XXX

Remus had spent the last hour entertaining Harry; he hadn't really needed to do much, the teen went to visit Hagrid for a good half an hour before returning to the great hall where Remus sat waiting for Lily and James to return. They talked occasionally, both not really sure of what to say.

Finally the doors swung open, to reveal two very ecstatic people. Remus gave a soft laugh as the redhead and her husband approached the long table, both grinning widely.

'What it is?' asked Harry who stood next to him; James was too caught up in dancing around the room to answer so Lily took it upon herself to do the honor.

'Harry would you like to live with your father and me at Prongs Palace?' her voice was straining to keep neutral.

Harry blinked, face impassive; and then threw himself into her arms; tears pouring down his cheeks. Lily held him close.

'Don't cry baby' she cooed as she took his face in her hands, bending down a fraction in order to meet his gaze with her own, 'We have our own house elves, and the house is huge' she added smiling happily.

'You can think about it if you like' chimed his father's voice, Harry shook his head.

'No' he said 'I don't need to think about it, I want to' he said through tears, Lily beamed and James sighed with relief. Remus smiled softly at the family of three.

_**Authors note: Thanks to all my reviewers who gave me some lovely reviews for my last chapter, I am very grateful *hugs*. Well that is chapter six done, I hope you all found it enjoyable; please tell me what you thought in a nice long review…or short…whatever takes your fancy, I don't mind as long as you review.**_

_**Ok here's a riddle for you to answer…if you know the answer tell me in your review;**_

_**What goes up and never comes down? *thinks*… Heck I don't even know the answer…I jest, I know the answer but do you? **_


	7. Returning Home

_**Authors note: WOW-IES!! I apologize completely and fully for the long wait for this chapter. I was having some trouble with my internet connection plus life just insisted it got in my way *sighs* but alas you have the next chapter, and I do hope you can all forgive my lateness and enjoy the read.**_

_**Disclaimer: Still not mine, nor will it ever be mine. **_

By late evening the group of four was back on the Knight bus, this time heading for home; Prongs Palace.

The ride went quickly as it does on the Knight bus; James having a reasonably comfortable ride with no injuries sustained. Within no time they were walking the lane towards the manor.

XXX

His feet crunched under the grey colored gravel that was the path leading to the entrance of Prongs Palace, the sun shone high in the sky gleaming down on the three wizards and single witch; warming their backs as they trekked towards the house.

Remus had visited Prongs Palace many times in his youth, mainly for a few days in the summer holidays; Sirius, James, Peter and himself would all sit by the lake and plan mischievous ways to annoy Severus.

He smiled as one of James' more sensible ideas came to mind as he gazed in the direction of the lake. He chuckled quietly as he pictured Severus with locks of _pink_ greasy hair hanging to his shoulders, that had been an eventful day; and rather amusing. Not only had Severus been stuck with bright pink hair for the whole day (not to mention the rest of the week) McGonagall had given James and Sirius two weeks' worth of detentions. Of course after their seventh and final year Remus rarely visited Prongs Palace, on the few occasions that he did he hadn't stayed long.

'Phew!' exclaimed Lily face scrunching up from the glare of the burning star, 'it's a hot day isn't it?' she said to no one in particular.

Remus flashed the red head a small lopsided smile before answering with a simple; 'sure is.'

James huffed from behind the werewolf; plucking at the front of his black shirt with index finger and thumb in hope to cool himself down a little, he was obviously annoyed at the suns consistence at heating the planet.

Remus shook his head as James begun to complain to Lily about her forcing him to wear a black shirt on such a hot day, stating that he was very near to collapsing of heat stroke.

Lily pursed her lips 'James, if I recall correctly you thought you looked mighty fine in that outfit, now stop complaining its getting you know where' she commented dryly, rolling her eyes to the heaven as if asking why and how she had ended up with this particular Gryffindor for a husband.

XXX

The group walked on in near silence after James' scolding, the occasional whine from James about the sun drying out his hair the only sound breaking the quiet, apart from their heavy breathing as the gravel path begun to get steeper, not much but enough to make them bend a little forwards.

'Why is the path to the house so long?' queried Harry as he wiped the back of his hand over his forehead, trying to lessen the moister clinging to his brow.

James gave a shrug 'never really thought about it' he said truthfully with a kind smile in the direction of the teen, Harry returned it and went back to staring at the ground as he ascended the path.

'How do you like Prongs Palace Harry?' Lily questioned her son, hand gesturing to the grounds; Harry took a moment to raise his head and observe his surroundings.

Remus watched with fond amusement as the raven haired teen stared open mouthed at the sight of Prongs Palace; eyes wide with wonder and amazement.

He himself couldn't not admit that Prongs Palace was something to be proud of, the house was huge it was more like a small castle; the grounds stretched for miles in every direction; surrounded by thick green forest and a lake glistened in the distance, water rippling in the slight breeze.

'Well…' started James 'What do you think kiddo?' he inquired as he watched his son smile brightly at his surroundings.

'It's brilliant' the boy breathed, grinning happily up at his father; James returned the gesture with a wink, which if possible made Harry's grin widen even more.

'Wait 'till you see the inside' James nudged Harry softly with his elbow, a grin playing on his lips.

They had reached the end of the gravel path, they now stood at the front door; James grasped the door handle which didn't go unnoticed to Harry that it was a lion's head. He swung open the front door to the mansion, cool air rushed to greet the new comers; cooling their flushed cheeks and sweaty brows.

Remus laughed lightly as Harry's jaw dropped, eyes widening almost comically as he took note of the interior.

Prongs Palace was old but elegantly so; it held grace and years of wisdom within its walls, and the energy of the whole house and land was strong with magic.

The intricate design and structure of the building was marvelous, and Harry was quick to pick up on the Gryffindor theme of the house.

Red and Gold seemed to be the most prominent colors and lion statues stood high and proud on either side of the double front door.

'Wow' was all that Harry could manage in a constricted voice as he twisted his head left to right in order to see everything in sight; this was his home…_his_ home, and everything about it was perfect.

XXX

Harry felt a slight pressure on his right elbow, gently nudging him onwards; nervously he took a step forward, the souls of his lace ups echoing on the polished marble floor…wait…marble floor?

Harry grinned stupidly to himself, relishing in the fact that Prongs Palace was (for lack of better words) bloody brilliant, it was stylish yet homely and anyone could tell that a family of great wealth lived here…his family!

'This place would have to be better than Malfoys!' he said quietly; many times in school the blonde Slytherin had boasted about Malfoy Manor and how spectacular it was, but Harry doubted whether it compared to Prongs Palace.

'It is the best' exclaimed James proudly from Harry's left Remus shook his head and smiled at his friend. Clearly happy to be in his company but obviously amused by James' pride with his house.

'Who's Malfoy sweetheart? A friend?' questioned Lily from behind him, curiosity clear in her voice.

Lily was hoping that she could at least get a small amount of information about her son, after all she knew nothing of his past; and that was starting to eat at her, this was her son for heaven sake she should know these things…yet she didn't, but she did plan on finding out everything, and soon.

Harry winced at her words 'god no,' he said quickly 'he's my enemy' the words came easily.

The red head gasped, 'enemy!' she repeated somewhat dumbly, Harry didn't seem to be the type that made enemies; then again going back to her previous statement, she didn't know much about him.

'Yeah,' Harry said conversationally 'we've been enemies since my first year at Hogwarts-'

'Your first year, oh my,' Lily cut in 'was it a good year?' she hurriedly added; searching for details.

'Yes and no, I mean I met Ron and Hermione; in fact on the train Malfoy offered to be my friend but I refused because he was being rude about Ron, thus he ended up as my enemy' Harry sighed with a half smile on his face, he seemed excited to share his past information with his mother which made Lily swell with pride, but she also worried over his words.

'What do you mean yes and no?' she tried to sound casual but failed as her motherly tone dripped with concern.

The black haired teen shrugged 'well…I had fun learning about magic and stuff, well not potions,' he paused as his father who was obviously listening in on the conversation shudder at the mention of potions. True James Potter was not hopeless at potions but he was certainly no expert; Lily smiled at her son, encouraging him to continue;

'But the philosophers stone was a right pain to deal with,' Harry went on 'fun in the beginning and stuff when we were investigating about it; but after we went through the trap door things went downhill.'

'Trapdoor,' Started James 'what trap door?' Lily nodded her head vigorously.

'What trap door?' she echoed quietly.

'Oh…just the one guarded by the three headed dog…Fluffy, Hagrid named it; although in my opinion the name was far from fitting' Harry added with a giggle as he gazed at both of his parents in turn.

James chuckled weakly, while Lily remained silent; Remus watched on face betraying his slight apprehension.

'Harry,' the teen turned to his former professor 'maybe you should leave the stories for another day, just until you all get settled in, then you can tell James and Lily _everything_ that has happened; I'm sure they're more than interested.'

Harry nodded, a look of reluctance creasing his brow.

'Don't worry,' soothed Remus, much to Lily and James' confusion 'they won't be upset, they'll understand'

'Understand what?' James asked voice laced with curiosity, but Remus just shook his head.

XXX

'Alright come on,' called James who moved forward quickly 'I want you to meet Squeaky and Misjiff'

'Squeaky and Misjiff…who are they?' questioned Harry following his father's lead interestedly.

'My house elves' James said loudly, 'your house elves…well our house elves' he corrected himself, he was clearly excited.

Harry grinned to himself, stomach doing flips at the thought of this house…and house elves actually belonging to him; and his father didn't care about the fact that they had only recently met; he wanted Harry to be a part of his life.

The raven haired man led the group to the kitchen, which really wasn't far from where they previously were.

The kitchen was huge, nearing the size of the one at Hogwarts; a few tables were placed around the room, seemingly in no particular order or position to Harry.

It contained four stoves and many cooking appliances.

'Squeaky, Misjiff,' said James to the empty kitchen 'there's someone I want you to meet'

Two identical pops signaled the house elves arrival, Harry watched at the elves' heads bobbed up and down as they scampered around the scattered tables to get to their master.

'Master James is returned!' spoke the shorter of the two, voice high and eyes looking adoringly up at the young man who stood before the elf.

James chuckled 'I told you I would be back Squeaky' he stated matter-of-factly but kindly all the same. The house elf which wore a cotton blue dress smiled lopsidedly at James.

He turned to Harry and motioned for him to come and stand beside him, with a tilt of his head; Harry did just that without question.

'This here,' he ruffled Harry's hair, 'is my son, Harry.'

Harry's stomach done more flips at the introduction and show of affection from his father, fighting hard to control the huge and possibly goofy grin that threatened to break out on to his face, Harry schooled his expression to look neutral.

The house elf known as Squeaky gave a shrill yell of greeting, before knocking the air out of harry with the force of her hug.

'Hello Master Harry' said the small creature as she looked up at Harry; deep hazel eyes glossing over with unshed tears. 'Squeaky is pleased to finally meet you' Harry nodded, a smile playing on his lips at the elf's emotional welcome.

'It is good to meet you master Harry' the other elf said softly, powder blue eyes clear of tears but full with happiness and sincere joy at seeing Harry. The teen inclined his head, unable to talk because of Squeaky's suffocating hug.

James watched on with a pleased smile on his lips before speaking up 'Why don't you two show Harry around, Remus can explore too; although I doubt much would have changed since his last visit' James said.

'Of course master James, come along little one' although Harry was not at all pleased at being referred to as "little one" he grudgingly followed Squeaky and Misjiff from the kitchen, turning back to face his parents once he got to the door way; reluctant to leave them.

Lily smiled 'go on sweetheart' she coaxed, as her unwilling son slowly disappeared from sight.

'Remy?' called James just as Remus made to follow; the sandy haired man turned in question.

'Lil's and I have some business to attend to,'

'We do?' wonder Lily, giving James a sideways glance; much to her annoyance he ignored her and continued speaking to Remus.

'So keep Harry busy for a good hour or more' finished the young man, Remus opened his mouth to question his friend but Squeaky's voice sounded;

'Is you coming Remus? We are ready to go exploring.'

'Alright I'll keep him busy for you' Remus promised, James shot him a thankful look, before the werewolf exited the kitchen.

Lily turned to her husband, green eyes questioning. 'What business do we have to attend to?' she asked.

James sighed, fingers absently tracing patterns in the wood of the table that sat to his right, contemplating how best to put his idea to her.

'We're going to Godrics Hollow' he stated as if this explained it all.

'MmmHmm' Lily acknowledged 'and what are we going there for?' he voice was low, oblivious to her husband's train of thought; she crossed the space between herself and James before lightly lifting herself to be sitting on the table top near James, smoothing out the creases in her green silk dress; awaiting an answer.

'Well,' he breathed after a moment of silence 'we are more so going to the graveyard' he said somewhat hesitantly.

'The graveyard,' Lily's voice was loud 'why would we go there, what possible reason is there for us to go to the graveyard?' she was getting annoyed now, she really didn't want to visit the place that she and her husband had died, let alone walk the ground where they had been buried.

'Because my Lily flower,' grinned James, eyes glowing 'we need our wands!'

_**Authors note: Yes…that was it…not much I know but I have been suffering from writers block and had so much trouble getting this chapter done; let's just say when I started writing it, it was around 11:00pm it is now 2:20am *sighs* normally my chapters take me a maximum of one hour to complete but this one just would behave and I kept getting stuck. Ok enough excuses, I hope you all enjoyed and are not too disappoint with this chapter, the next should be more interesting.**_

_**Riddle;**_ _**the more you have of it, the less you see. What is it?  
**_

_**One more thing, I have started a story about Harry falling ill on Halloween night (the night Voldy came and killed the Potters) James and Lily decide to take him to Hogwarts to be check over by Madam Pomfrey, in doing so they avoid Voldemort and end up living, I suppose it's an alternative childhood for Harry. It doesn't have much of a plot for now but I have completed the first two chapters and was wondering if anyone wanted me to start posting, that's if you are interested? If so then please tell me in your review.**_

_**Yours faithfully,**_

_**Hogwarts-hero.**_


	8. The graveyard

_**Authors note: Hello my lovelies!! A huge thanks to all who reviewed for my last chapter; you make my day whenever I see your review, seriously; they were all so nice. Also just wanted to answer some questions for you all;**_

_**A certain reviewer wanted to know when Sirius was coming into the story; well I can say that he'll either be in the next chapter or the one after that, so to all you Sirius fans out there, that's something to look forward to.**_

_**Also, James and Lily will be meeting Harry's friends in later chapters (also Molly and Arthur and others) so that will be fun to write.**_

_**This story still has a while until the end, I have a few…well I tell a lie, I have more than a few events to add in before I end the story. To those who are wondering, yes, Voldemort shall be defeated by the end, but how…?**_

_**Also Wormtail will play a big part in the plot of the story. (Just a little hint)**_

_**Alright if I have missed any questions, I apologize.**_

_**Disclaimer; never has been, nor will be mine *sobs, hit fist on desk* Ok enjoy…**_

Although afternoon was upon the witch and wizard, everything in the old graveyard seemed to cast eerie shadows; stretching long across the moist earth.

Gravestones that marked the final resting place of those who had passed into an eternal sleep were scattered around the ground; in rows that were carelessly rushed, marring the neatness.

Sandstone gravestones were plentiful, granite rather scarce. Vases that held dead and dying flowers remained as a symbol that the dead shall never be forgotten, and always remembered; although the state of the plants seemed far from healthy. Relatives of the dead that lay entombed in their coffins, obviously not visiting regularly.

James walked behind Lily, feet trudging in the lose earth that made it a difficult task to keep up with the red head.

'Come on Lil's wait up, it was my idea so I should lead the way' James knew his voice was whining, childlike with each single word; but he ignored it the best he could, considering Lily was glaring at him.

'Yes,' she started 'it was your idea…and I know that we need our wands,' she added hastily seeing James about to protest 'but really couldn't we have brought along Remus. At least then he could have helped us retrieve the wands, how do you suppose we get to them when they're five feet under the soil?' she gave him a questioning look.

The raven haired man shrugged. True Remus' presence at this time would be helpful, but really did Lily think him completely useless? He could get the wands easily, and he would prove that to her by finding their graves.

'Out of the way Lil's' he said as he pushed past the young woman, and proceeded up the small mound of dirt that she had been perched on. Lily steadied herself when her feet slipped in the soil, causing her to descend a few inches.

'We have important business to attend so get moving' called James. Lily laughed at his commanding tone, shaking her head left to right and back in three movements at her husband's antics.

XXX

The sun gleamed down on Prongs Palace, warming the grounds and sending heat through the glass windows.

Harry, Remus and the two house elves had been pacing the house for a good hour, and much to Harry's amazement had only covered a little under half of the inside property.

'How big is this place?' he inquired, running a little to catch up to the werewolf; who hadn't been as fascinated with the portrait of a roaming loin as the teen had been.

Remus gave an off handed shrug 'I'm not sure,' he said uncertainly 'although I'm positive that it'll take us at least another hour to cover the rest of the house, and perhaps two for the grounds if not longer.'

Harry sucked in a good amount of air before whistling with puckered lips. Remus nodded his agreement.

The older man gave a short laugh, when Harry looked at him curiously he added, 'Sirius would always get lost in this place, it was like his second home yet he never quite learnt his way around' he chuckled at the memory of finding a rather panicked Sirius, sobbing (although he would never admit to it) in one of the many bathrooms.

Harry smirked at Remus' explanation, 'it wouldn't be hard to get lost' he said looking around at the numerous paintings that hung on the walls, in the hall that they were walking down.

'No' agreed the sandy haired man 'it's quite an easy task' Harry smiled up at his former teacher, who returned the smile with a wink.

'Shall we go and have a look at your fathers' bedroom?'

Harry grinned, 'I'll take that as a yes?' asked Remus.

Harry nodded 'please do' and with that the two wizards and house elves headed for the third floor.

XXX

The couple stood in front of two gravestones, Lily with over bright eyes, and James breathing deeply in his chest. Lily exhaled slowly, rubbing her hands down her face in an exasperated fashion.

'You want to start digging?' James question in a gentle tone, Lily made an uncertain sound in her throat before adding 'No, do you?'

'Not really, but we really have to Lil's,' James knew he sounded just a fraction pleading, but once again ignored his self 'come on, I'll get something to begin digging with ok?' Lily nodded.

As shocked and emotionally ragged as he was from seeing the gravestones marking him and his wife as dead; he knew it wouldn't help matters if they wallowed in their emotions, after all they needed to get back to Harry and Remus.

The young wizard searched the area for a shovel like device that could be used for digging. Unfortunately the best he could find was an old cast iron shard, around about twenty two inches long.

He headed back to his wife, who still stood staring at her grave; eyes distant.

'This is all I could find' the red head turned to face her husband, who held out the iron; she nodded.

Minutes later found the red head and her companion breathlessly and hurriedly scraping at the dark earth, James had resorted to using his hands, while Lily had the help of the iron shard.

'This is going to take forever' said Lily, wiping her brow with the back of her hand; eyes squinting in the sunlight.

James sighed 'MmmHmm' he agreed easily, clawing at the dirt in a way similar to a dog digging to retrieve a bone, perched in a squatting position.

'Maybe we'll make it to China?!' laughed the black haired young man, receiving a roll of the eyes from Lily.

XXX

Harry had been near to tears as he had inspected his father's room. Old memories preserved in moving photographs, yellowing parchment with the writing of the past etched from a bleeding quill.

James Potters room wasn't large, but a modest size; containing a double sized bed, a set of wooden chest of drawers; on top of which was packed with what Harry presumed to be James' old school things (books, used quills, pictures, odd wizardry contraptions) in the far right corner of the room was a tall long mirror, claw like feet holding it a few inches from the floor. A widow opposite the door showed a beautiful view of the spectacular grounds that stretched far and on the marble floor lay a handsome soft rug of red and gold.

'This is wonderful' the teen breathed, voice barely more than a whisper.

Remus smiled over at him, also marveling at the room that had an air of Gryffindor pride about it.

'It's one of the smallest rooms in the house; even a few of the bathrooms are bigger than this room. However it's also one of the most extraordinary' added Remus, watching for Harry's reaction.

The teen grinned 'how so?' he asked, curiosity lacing his voice.

'Well,' continued the wolf 'this room actually has another room hidden in it!' as weird as his statement sounded it was the complete truth. Harry raised a dark eye brow.

Moving over to the shining mirror Remus squeezed behind it motioning for harry to follow him.

Raising his right hand he placed it directly over his heart, his left hand suspended in mid air next to his ear, palm facing the wall.

'I Moony, member of the four marauders wish to gain entrance to the secret room.'

Harry watched in awe as the wall slowly but surely begun to lighten in color; the stone wall becoming completely transparent within a maximum of thirty seconds.

'Whoa' was the only word to leave his mouth, before a sharp gasp followed.

The room behind the wall was brilliant. It consisted of a sitting area crammed with squishy arm chairs and bean bags; it had a small library to the back of the room and even Harry noted with amazement, a work area for brewing potions.

'What is this place?' he asked quietly stepping forward slowly, almost hesitantly.

'The marauders secret room, we use to come here when it was raining and we couldn't sit outside on the grounds. We did a lot of mischievous planning in this room' he said with a fond smile on his lips.

'The books,' he pointed to the library section of the room 'contain every subject in the magical arsenal, from potions to flying a broom'

'Transfusion, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures?' Harry asked in an excited tone, the sandy haired man laughed;

'Yes that too, _everything_' Harry whistled, a grin spreading across his face.

Prongs Palace was spectacular.

XXX

'Why'd you stop digging?' queried Lily as she watched her husband examine his dirt covered hands; grimacing at the dark soil that was under his finger nails.

'Because my Lily flower,' James started, wiping his hands on his jeans before continuing 'We've reached my grave!' Lily looked down at the soil and sure enough she could clearly see the hard coffin that lay half buried under the earth.

James reached out, hand extending towards Lily, silently asking for the piece of iron that Lily held in her clenched hand; she passed it to him, and watched as he struggled to open the coffin.

Lily sighed 'do you want some help Hun?' she asked when James had been at it for over two minutes and still had not managed to so much as crack the lid to the coffin open…not even a little bit.

James shook his head, face scrunched up with concentration 'no, I'm fine…'

'Sure you are' the red head said sarcastically as he grunted and jabbed the metal at the coffin over and over, plainly annoyed with the lack of progress he was making.

Lily pursed her lips, eyebrows raising as her husband gave a war cry and lunged at the coffin, almost bending the iron shard with his force, 'Oh, for crying out loud, _here_' and with that Lily took the iron and forced it into the crack between the lid and bottom of the coffin; with a loud groan the lid begun to lift, sending dirt into the humid air.

Lily waved her hand in front of her face, clearing the dust from the air; a faint cough leaving her mouth as the dry substance got caught in her throat.

James closed his eyes tight, not willing to see what the coffin contained.

'Well that certainly was _hard_, and took _all_ my strength to get it open' laughed Lily, as she reached into the near empty coffin and received James' eleven inch mahogany wand.

'Sarcasm doesn't suit you Lil's' commented James grumpily as he cursed himself for his loss of bravado; he had been going so well, and had been so calm and collected.

Lily laughed again, a joyful and pleasant sound 'alright lets open mine and get the wand' she said moving to the grave next to her husband's to begin digging, James huffed but followed her actions regardless.

XXX

The afternoon was wearing on, the sun soon sinking lower in the sky.

Harry and Remus had finally finished their tour of Prongs Palace; they had immensely enjoyed Squeakys running commentary on certain facts; such as the ghoul in the basement that had been dwelling there since James' great grandparents had lived in the house, or the fact that the stone statues of lions, that seemed to be scattered throughout the house, would on occasion roam Prongs Palace; Harry presumed them to be enchanted in much the same way as the suits of armor at Hogwarts, and found it oddly hilarious when a certain lion statue kept following Remus around; nudging him in the back when he would slow or stop. Remus had been annoyed but Harry was entertained, so the werewolf let the statue do as it pleased.

'Would Master Harry and Remus be liking some diner?' inquired Misjiff kindly as they descended from the fifth floor.

'Misjiff and Squeaky would be happy to make something to eat' he added with a smile in the wizards' direction.

Harry looked at Remus, who nodded that yes he wouldn't mind a bite to eat.

'Sure' Harry replied somewhat unsurely, not completely use to talking to the two elves. Of course he had associated with Dobby, but he wasn't in charge of Dobby; even though the elf followed every direction given to him by Harry. It was surreal to think that he now had house elves to do his bidding, although Harry vowed to himself that he would treat them with respect and only call them when he really needed them.

Misjiff grinned hugely before disappearing with a pop.

'Let's go down to the kitchen shall we?' asked Remus. Harry nodded, following Squeakys lead; listening as she told him about the number of magical creatures that inhabited the lake.

XXX

They were gone, his parents had disappeared. Harry's eyes whelmed with salty tears, as he stared at the empty kitchen, why would they leave him; had it all been some horrible joke?

Didn't they love him?

He knew this was going to happen everything was just too perfect to last. Everyone left him in the end…everyone.

'Harry?' Remus question as he spotted the teary eyed teen gasping for air.

'What's that matter, Harry?' he called moving to the boys side, clutching Harry's left arm to support the teen.

'Mum and dad, they're-' he gulped thickly, swallowing the flood of emotion that threatened to consume him 'they're gone!' was all he managed before moister fell quickly down his flushed cheeks, dripping off his chin.

'They left me' he cried, all attempts at controlling his sobbing failing as he begun to shake with sadness; knees buckling as he sunk to the cold floor.

He heard Remus take in a sharp intake of air before he felt the man bend down next to him, taking his head in his palms and turning him to face the werewolf.

'No Harry,' Remus said firmly hands tightening their hold on Harry's cheeks 'they did not leave you, they had to get their wands from the grave yard; they will be back soon.'

Harry shook his head as much as was possible, 'they _always_ leave' he said through chocked sobs.

'Who always leave Harry? Your parents?' the sandy haired man asked, honey eyes looking directly into Harry's green ones.

'Everyone…' Harry said 'Cedric, Sirius last year after the third task and now my parents…_again_' he couldn't take it, his voice broke on the last word and his sobs soon became more pronounced, causing his small frame to convulse and shake. Remus' expression softened to one close to pity, watching the teen work himself up.

'Listen carefully to me Harry,' he begun, managing in successfully gaining Harry's attention 'they didn't leave you; they needed to get their wands…' but before he could finish his statement, the crack of apparation sounded throughout the kitchen.

Remus looked away from the weeping teen just in time to see Lily and James appear on top of a stove, the rim of Lily's dress was coated with what appeared to be mud, and James missing a shoe.

'Could you be any worse at apparating?' commented the young woman, jumping down from the stove and landing lightly on the ground.

'Well at least I got it on the second try, I could have well given up and we would have been stuck in that swamp forever.' James retorted.

'James,' Lily almost screamed with frustration 'who could possibly end up in a _swamp_, in the middle of know where when they were aiming for their home?' her question was met with silence as James shrugged, also descending off the stove top.

'Side along apparation is hard' he mumbled but was cut off as Lily spotted Harry on the floor next to Remus, still crying softly despite his knowledge that Lily and James were back.

'Harry,' she rushed over to him sitting on her heels in front of him, eyes full of concern.

'What happened?' she question Remus.

'He thought you two had left him' the older man informed, voice low. Lily gave a small gasp, before turning back to Harry. James moved closer to his wife and son.

'We would never leave you sweetheart, _never_' she emphasized that last word by taking a hold of her sons hunched shoulders and pulling him into a tight and motherly hug.

Harry returned the hug gratefully, fully exhausted after his crying spell and wandering the house all afternoon. His mother rubs circle on his back, making him smile into her shoulder; and bury his head into her neck, he knew that he was fourteen years old but couldn't care less; he finally had parents and wasn't going to let his age stop him enjoying everything that he had been deprived of.

'We love you very much Harry and we will never leave you; do you understand?' said Lily gently to her son.

'MmmHmm' replied the teen, hugging his mother more tightly; knowing eventually he would have to let go, otherwise he just might suffocate her; although in his defense she was embracing him just as tightly.

Was this what it was like to be loved?

_**Authors note: Well I'm glad to see that you made it to the end…would you care to leave a review and tell me how I am going with the story? *gives puppy dogs eyes* I am wondering how people are finding the story so far…has it been good, bad, does it make sense…you know that kind of thing, please leave your opinion, I'd be glad to read it.**_

_**Oh and the answer to the riddle was darkness (the one before that was age) stefunny2010 came up with food, which I think fitted with the riddle as well (congrats to stefunny2010 for coming up with that)*claps***_

_**My other story that I have been working on will be posted after this chapter, so if you are interested in reading it, please visit my profile and check it out.**_

_**Riddle; **__**what has to be broken before it can be used? **_


	9. An unwanted guest

_**Authors note: Hello everyone!! How have you all been? Well here is the next chapter for you; I do hope you enjoy it. **_

_**Disclaimer: Never has been mine, is not mine, never will be mine!**_

Lily rubbed comforting circles on Harry's back, occasionally whispering gentle words in his ear to calm him.

She was shocked by his reaction at finding them gone, they hadn't been gone too long; although James' little side trip to the swamp, however accidental it was, had made them twenty minutes later than they would have been, had James paid more attention to what he was doing.

She simply put her sons' emotions down to adolescences and perhaps the fear of losing them again.

'How about we have something to eat?' inquired James from behind his wife. She gently broke apart from Harry, reluctant to do so, however he had quieted now, but still held on to her shouldered with gentle force; she gave him a brief kiss on the cheek as she pulled back; hoping her motherly action wasn't over the top. Harry gave her a weak smile, so she guessed it was alright.

She stood up, smoothing the wrinkles in her dress by running her hands down her thighs, once the dress had been made reasonably crease free she took a look around the large kitchen. 'Do we have any food?' she asked her husband. The kitchen looked empty, not old; for the house elves had kept up with their cleaning and general maintenance, but it didn't look exactly homely.

James nodded, 'all the food should be fine; there are protection spells cast on the cupboards to preserve the food.' Lily smiled in satisfaction, she loved to cook and would enjoy it all the more now she was cooking for her son; she just hoped she knew what he liked to eat. It would seem rude to ask, so she decided to go with something simple.

'Right then, I'll get to work' and with that said she hurriedly made for a random cupboard, flinging it open and rummaging through its contents; pulling out pots and pans and numerous other kitchen utensils of various shapes and sizes. She had to marvel at how many muggle objects were in the kitchen, most wizard and witches homes had a few kitchen utensils, the basics, for they could do most if not all with magic. However Prongs Palace was well equipped for both non-magic and magical beings. Which she was thankful for; she had never truly mastered the art of cooking with magic.

She was aware that the two men and Harry were staring at her, but she disregarded it.

'Lil's,' James started, she turned to him; eyes questioning, 'wouldn't it be quicker if Squeaky or Misjiff cooked dinner?' the two unnoticed house elves nodded their agreement, 'unless you want to then that's fine' he added quickly.

Lily nodded 'I would prefer to do it,' she said, seeing the house elves slump a little she went on 'however I may need some help, after all I'm cooking for-' she counted everyone in the room, including the two elves (James had always insisted that they eat the meals he did) 'five, six if I include myself'

'Squeaky would be happy to help' squeaked the small creature, moving forward with Misjiff following behind; Squeaky hoisted up her dress so that the hem was above her ankles and made for the nearest cupboard.

Lily smiled at the elves enthusiasm, considering she was looking through a broom closet.

'Excuse me!' The red head stopped in her hast to find a good non stick frying pan to look at her son, who looked somewhat nervous.

'Yes sweetheart?' she asked, noting that he shifted on his feet, she forced the frown that came to her lips to disappear as she kept her eyes on her son.

He swallowed thickly; 'Can I help as well?' was he quiet inquiry.

She smiled brightly at him; hoping this gesture would calm him _obviously the Dursleys had more of an impact on him then just the physical kind _she thought, 'of course you can, I'd love you to help' she added, Harry smiled at her; eyes radiating happiness. _Note to self: punish the Dursleys…some more._

XXX

Half an hour later found the red head and her son working around the kitchen; Squeaky and Misjiff doing what they could to help out.

'Who taught you to cook so well?' Lily question as she watched her son cut up the vegetables for the roast they were making. Harry shrugged, face neutral.

'I kind of taught myself,' he said, voice low as he concentrated on moving the knife cleanly over the carrot he was slicing. Lily frowned at his response, knowing there was more to it.

'Someone must have told you some things about cooking, you are really quite good' the teen blushed at her compliment, pale cheeks warming to a subtle pink.

'Well…aunt Petunia would occasionally give me hints about how to cook something a certain way, when I would cook them breakfast; uncle Vernon would hate it if I done something the wrong way…I suppose that was nice of her' Harry said, voice distant.

Lily gaped at him, mouth slightly open; 'they made you cook for them?' she asked loudly, Harry flinched at the noise but otherwise was calm, giving a small nod.

'But that's horrible, they-they…' she broke off, how she despised her sister for making her son cook for them; what else had happened that she didn't know about.

'It's alright,' the dark haired teen reassured 'I didn't mind or anything…_much_' he added so his mother couldn't hear, Lily ruffled his hair with affection, deciding to let the matter go…for now.

XXX

Remus sighed from beside James 'I've missed this place' he said quietly, James nodded; although in truth for him it hadn't been long since he had last seen Prongs Palace.

The two men stood by the lake, looking out over the rippling water; the breeze lifting their hair and cooling their cheeks.

It was late evening, and the sun was now setting, slowly but surely sinking beneath the horizon; its orange glow shining dimply through the many trees that surrounded Prongs Palace.

'Wonder what Lily is cooking,' Remus spoke up again, voice calm. James shrugged; he knew he was being overly quiet especially for him but he was worried about his son, the hesitancy and quietness of his demeanor was unusual. In truth James knew he didn't know Harry, not the teenage Harry anyway; but from his experience with his son when he was an infant, he could tell that something had changed.

'You alright James,' question Remus, James nodded seeing his friend turn to face him.

'Well…no, I'm not,' Remus raised an eyebrow 'it's just…well…did you see how he acted?' Remus nodded, clearly understanding what James was on about.

'It's like he doesn't want to upset us, it's those stupid muggles fault; they bashed him and clearly didn't feed him enough…' the young man broke off, breathing heavily.

He felt Remus place a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and took a deep calming breath.

'Listen, I'm sure in time he will learn to be more comfortable around you; you must realize that it's not every day that the dead come back to life; he's probably still a little shocked about that' he paused 'as for the Dursleys, what they did was terrible; but right now you need to be here for harry, revenge can come later'

James was skeptical about the idea of letting the Dursleys get away with their horrible deeds, even if only for a little while but knew that his friend was right; Harry would need him and Lily to help him adjust to the sudden change in events.

Remus smiled kindly 'come on, I bet diners almost ready' James returned the smile, glad to have Remus to talk to; but sorely missing his _brother_.

XXX

'What's for dinner I'm starving' James asked as he entered the kitchen, Remus on his heels.

Lily looked up from setting cutlery on the large oak dining table, smiling at her husband and Remus, who both were flushed in the cheeks from their trek around the grounds, hair windblown (although you could hardly notice this with James).

'What have you two been up to?' she queried as James pulled back a chair and sat down.

'Just taking a walk around the grounds and to the lake' he replied voice casual with nonchalant, Lily smiled, pleased that the two friends had had time to catch up.

'So,' breathed James once more 'what are we having?'

'A little bit of everything,' spoke up Harry as he entered the dining room from the kitchen, balancing two plates packed with food in his hands.

'Lily…' the red head sent the teen a small glance 'I mean…mum… insisted on making my first meal in Prongs Palace memorable…_thanks_' he added as Lily helped him with the plates.

'It would have been memorable regardless of how the food was' Harry said, taking a seat next to his father who nodded his agreement smiling at his son; thankful for his sudden change in attitude, he hated seeing his son so withdrawn and quiet; this was more like it.

'This looks wonderful Lily' complemented the sandy haired man, as he took a seat opposite James.

'I know, and not a drop of magic was used for making it; it's all mine and Harry's hard work' she boastfully said, James raised his brows; having grown up in a pure blood family, everything was done by magic; he was always impressed by Lily's skill at cooking any other way.

'And Squeaky and Misjiff helped out' added Harry, as Lily placed a plate full of roast chicken and vegetables in front of him; Lily nodded;

'Yes, can't forget them can we, they were a wonderful help' Squeaky beamed with pride as she climbed on to the seat next to harry.

'Lily is too kind to old Squeaky' said the house elf once seated comfortably.

XXX

Diner had been a surprisingly easy affair, comfortable and cheery from the moment it started until the moment all the plates were scraped clean.

Harry had enjoyed it immensely, he had been afraid it would have been uncomfortable, but his father kept away the silence with odd stories and memories from his school days that made even the house elves laugh. Remus would occasionally join in with the telling of a particularly long tale, but otherwise sat back and listened to his friend.

By eight o'clock Lily and Harry were clearing the table, James and Remus speaking of Sirius; who it seemed to Harry, his father really missed. Maybe they would be able to go and visit Sirius soon.

Harry had just taken the last plate into the kitchen when he heard a loud pop; similar to the sound of someone apparating. Startled by the sudden noise his grip went slack, dropping the plate to the floor; smashing it into tiny shards.

Panicking the teen bent down, hurriedly scraping the pieces into a pile with his hands.

'Harry!' exclaimed Lily, as she rounded the corner having heard the noise; James and Remus followed soon after. Blushing from embarrassment and anger at his self for ruining such a perfect evening, Harry quickly attempted to clean up the evidence of his clumsiness without his parents or Remus noticing what had happened…this was useless, and he sighed; realizing that they were not stupid and would notice the shards of glass surrounding him.

'I'm sorry…I didn't mean to – I mean, I heard something and it frightened me-' he tried to explain, voice loud.

Lily shook her head 'don't be sorry Harry, you did nothing wrong' she paced over to where he sat on the ground; bending down she gently stopped his hands from scrapping at the broken pieces of plate.

She gasped when she noticed the blood that covered his pale fingers, 'Harry, you're hurt' the teen shrugged.

'Mum,' he started, as the red head begun to heal his wounds with her wand 'Mmm?' she answered a little distractedly.

'How did dad apparate into Prongs Palace, I mean can anyone get in?' he knew his voice sounded scared, young; but he had to know.

It wasn't Lily who answered but James, who stood behind his wife; watching as she healed Harry, a small frown on his lips;

'Prongs Palace has wards up, but unlike many they allowed a certain few to apparate inside the actual building. It would immediately recognize anyone under the influence of the Polyjuice potion or glamour charm, not to mention dark magic;' he added 'in short it is a highly powerful spell and not very well known about.' He informed his son, who listened intently to his explanation.

'There are milder forms of it' continued James, 'such as one that would signal with an alarm when someone, other than who was allowed to enter, would try to apparate in to whatever building had the enchantment; it would not outright stop the uninvited guest, unlike the wards on Prongs Palace, but the alarm would be enough to take precaution until the guest was known' Finished the wizard.

'So who are the people who can get past the wards?' the teen questioned, curiosity in his voice.

James looked in thought for a moment before saying 'Lil's and I-'

'Naturally,' commented Lily as she finished up on Harry's hands 'it would be a problem if we couldn't get in, wouldn't it' she said with mirth in her voice, obviously the only person in the room who found her words funny.

James smiled before he went on, not at all fussed with being interrupted 'plus Sirius, Albus had been allowed also, although his visits had always been rare. Remus hadn't been included because at the time the wards were placed we had thought that he was the traitor working for Voldemort, the fifth and final person to be allowed access to the house was…'

'Peter!' Lily gasped, she suddenly let go of Harry; eyes wide with terror.

James looked concerned for his wife a frown marring his lips, he made to move forwards before his features changed to one of intense anger. Harry panicked at his father's expression, he looked murderous. Making to stand up, he was caught off guard when a firm hand, he presumed to be his former professors pushed him back down; he tried to shrug it off, but to no avail.

Harry gave his mother a questioning look, but her eyes were locked upon a spot above his head, Harry presumed she was staring at Remus; that was until he saw Remus standing to his left, wand out and face livid.

Oh no!

'Get you hand off my son!' James all but spat, jaw clenched tightly and eyes narrowed with hatred.

Lily stayed where she was on the floor, eyes not wavering from the traitors form. Her breathing was fast and uneven, causing her chest to rise and fall quickly; her expression one of shock.

Remus was frozen, wand pointing directly Harry gathered at Peter's heart.

The room stayed silent, Peter didn't react to James' order. James narrowed his eyes even more, glaring at Peter with utmost resentment; if the situation hadn't been so serious Harry would have been amazed that his father could still make out anything considering his eyes were practically closed; however now was not the time for that.

'What are you doing here?' questioned the raven haired man, voice deadly quiet.

Again, Peter had no response.

'Well,' shouted James, voice ringing throughout the large kitchen. The hand on Harry's left shoulder tensed, trembling ever so slightly.

The raven haired man pulled his wand from his jean pocket quickly, and within mere seconds had it directed at his former best friend.

'I do not intend on making your death painless, but maybe it might be the slightest bit shorter if you answer me…_maybe_' he echoed again, voice cold.

The room was quiet, then Peter spoke up; words barely audible, as they passed his twitching lips;

He looked James straight in the eye, 'I'm sorry!'

James gave a yell of fury and lunged towards the man, as he shouted a jinx, Lily cried out a scream of "no" voice fearful, knowing what the traitor was planning to do, and Remus sent a hex flying for Peters heart.

Peter grasped the teens shoulder firmly, and suddenly Harry knew why his mother had screamed…he was going to apparate out with him.

Jerking his body away from Peter's hold, Harry rolled to his stomach; making sure not to get in the line of fire; Within seconds the traitor was gone, both spells crashed into the doorway; blasting dents into the rock.

James howled with rage at Peter's escape, and Remus didn't look far off screaming himself. It was Lily who spoke up first.

'We need to get help, Albus was the one who installed the wards; maybe he knows how to block a certain person' she said, looking at Remus.

'I think we need to get out of here, he might try something else' said James, looking around the room as if expecting to see Peter return.

'We'll go to headquarters' stated the werewolf, voice decisive. The couple looked confused.

'Headquarters,' they both echoed in unison, brows furrowed.

Harry's face lit up, a huge grin spreading across his face; 'we get to see Sirius!' he almost yelled in excitement. Remus nodded, a smile quirking his lips at the teens reaction; however it was nothing compared to the teens father.

'Paddy…we get to see him?' the young man said, voice wavering with untold glee, he turned to his wife' eyes alive with pleasure at the prospect of seeing his friend.

He grabbed at her hand, tugging on it childishly 'come on Lil's,' he whined 'let's go, let's go, let's go' Lily shook her head in exasperation, sending Remus a look that plainly stated that her husband was beyond mental.

'Alright, just hold on' she laughed as James stamped his foot impatiently on the ground; pouting. 'I need to get a jacket' she said informatively, the raven haired man huffed; but nodded all the same.

'Fine, but be quick!' he yelled to her as she retreated out of the kitchen and up the stairs; heading for one of the bedrooms.

'We're going to see Padfoot!' James crowed, punching the air and grinning widely at his son; who shared his enthusiasm on the matter. Harry chuckled, looking forward to seeing his god father.

'Ron and Hermione will be there as well' he informed his father, who stopped doing a rather uncoordinated dance around the kitchen to look at his son.

'They're your friends' right?' he asked.

Harry nodded 'my best friends, they are great; I can't wait for you to meet them' James smiled.

'Me neither' and it was the truth, he was really looking forward to learning everything about his son, who his friends were, what his likes and dislikes were…everything.

_**Authors note: Yes my friends you have come to the ending of this chapter, but never fear because Sirius shall be entering in the next *squeals* YAY! Anyway, what did you all think of this chapter? I was actually going to stop it at (Oh no!) but thought I may as well continue, just for you…and also because I was enjoying writing this chapter…but mainly for you *grins* **_

_**The answer to the previous riddle was an egg! *claps for everyone who got it right* but I would like to have a special mention to 10thWeasley who in fact answered the riddle with horse! And you know what, that makes perfect sense, so extra rounds of applause for that, all my reviewers are too clever! First stefunny2010 now 10thWeasley!! **_

_**Riddle; **__**A skin have I, more eyes than one. I can be very nice when I am done. What am I? **_

_**Reviews?!  
**_


	10. Meeting Padfoot

_**Authors note: Ok, so I am very sorry about the long wait; I haven't been on for a while. I would like to thank all my reviewers that reviewed my last chapter, thank you all so much they were greatly appreciated *hugs* alright go read and hopefully enjoy;**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, J.K Rowling does, and I make no profit what so ever.**_

'Come on Lil's, I want to see Sirius' whined an impatient James as he rocked on his feet, hands twisting almost nervously with the hem of his shirt.

Lily shook her head, marveling at her husband's child like ways. He had always been immature at times, but honestly he got more excited about seeing his best friend than he did his own wife; sometimes she had to wonder just who he was married to, Sirius or herself.

Laughing a little at her thoughts she slipped on the light green cardigan; that matched her dress quite nicely.

'Alright, I'm ready we can go now' James whooped and kissed her lightly on the cheek before running out of the kitchen in the direction of the fire place; smiling at his enthusiasm she followed.

She was looking forward to seeing Sirius, she had always gotten on well with him, well not in school…but after she and James married she got to know him better and found his company entertaining; Remus had been her favorite marauder (not including James), but Sirius was amusing, and a good friend to James.

'What took you so long?' James asked, his wife rolled her emerald eyes; sighing with exasperation. She had only been five or so steps behind him.

Disregarding his question she turned to Remus who had stopped next to her, Harry walked over to his father watching with a half smile as James begun to pace impatiently back and forth.

'Where are we going?' question the red head, realizing that she had no clue as to where Sirius would be; considering he had escaped from Azkaban she realized he would have to be in hiding, although where he was escaped her knowledge.

'Number twelve Grimmauld Place' replied the older man, reaching for the small dish of floo powder.

'WHAT?' exclaimed James, stopping mid turn and stumbling slightly as he over balanced on one foot. Lily looked at her husband curiously while Remus fumbled with the dish in surprise of the outburst.

'Padfoot would never go back there Remy, _never_!' he insisted, voice forceful but not mean. Remus shrugged, regaining his composure and grabbing a handful of the gritty substance;

'It's the Order of the Phoenix headquarters, plus a place he can hide out' he added, a sad smile on his lips. James quieted.

'Are we ready to go than?' Remus inquired calmly, James nodded; a smile firmly fixed to his features, Lily gave a small smile in response and Harry stepped up and grabbed his own handful of grey powder.

The werewolf gestured for the teen to go first, giving Lily a look that plainly said it would be best if she went along as well.

'On the count of three…' begun Remus, once the duo was standing as comfortable as possible with in the fire place, Lily gripped her sons elbow, making sure he stayed close.

'One…two…three' called Remus, and Harry chucked the powder southwards; once their destination had been called mother and son were whisked away in a flash of emerald.

Lily was not one for flooing, however quick it was; it was also down right messy and highly awful with all the spinning. Throughout the trip she maintained a strong grip on her sons elbow, squeezing her eyes shut to shield them from the dust that whirled around them, and also because she didn't particularly like seeing the countless of fire places go spinning by.

Finally as her stomach contracted and squirmed, making her wish she hadn't ate so much dinner; the spinning abruptly stopped. Harry was the first to stumble out of the fire place, followed by Lily; who considering she had flooed numerous of times, was a little unsteady on her feet.

She righted her cardigan, that had slipped off one shoulder, and smoothed out her soot stained dress; by running her hands over the material; if anything spreading the grime out more. Blinking a few times to adjust to the dim light she looked around.

It was a scarcely lit room, with most of the light glowing from a large fire not far from where they stood. Lily turned in a full circle to get a better look at her surroundings.

The walls were cold stone and she noted that the darkened shapes that hung from the ceiling, were in fact iron pots and pans, the room was hazy; probably she guess from the drifting smoke of the fire.

The most noticeable object in the room was the large wooden table that was placed in the middle of the room. Various chairs were crammed around it, close together. The table was littered with rolls of parchment, a single wine bottle and two goblets.

'Well…' she breathed to Harry 'this is quaint' her son smiled at her.

'It's the first time I've been here' he stated, his voice showing excitement and curiosity.

Lily raised her brow at his words, and he nodded once in affirmation. From behind them the fire roared to life, startling Lily who was closer than Harry.

She spun around, just in time to see Remus attempting to hold her husband steady. He failed with this and James went clambering out of the fire place, landing heavily on the floor; hands slapping at the stone as they made contact.

'PADFOOT,' he yelled loudly, voice echoing around the kitchen, Remus made a shushing gesture and Lily grimaced, knowing that yelling for Sirius wasn't a good idea; did he even know they were alive?

'Don't do that, do you want to whole order to come running?' hissed Lily, lips pursed and green eyes narrowing; making a crease form between her brows, her hands were placed on her hips.

James didn't respond, his chin resting against the cold floor; eyes staring at the door way, breathing deeply and rather fast;

Lily looked up quickly, and gasped audibly; there in the door way was…

'SIRIUS' screamed James and Harry in unison, James scrambled to his feet as he made to run at his best friend; Remus however intervened, grabbing the wizard by the back of his shirt and pulling him to his side. Harry had more luck and ran quickly to his godfathers' side; Sirius gave him a brief one armed hug, lips twitching into a small smile; before his attention went back to the group in front of him.

James' face dropped, looking pleadingly at the werewolf.

'He doesn't know!' Remus said to a disgruntled James, however before he could continue Sirius spoke up;

'Actually,' he said in a soft voice 'I do' he paused, looking directly at James 'Albus came for a visit not long ago,' he gestured toward the wine bottle and goblets 'he told me everything he knew' he finished, voice laced with hidden emotion.

XXX

To say it was a shock to find his two best friends, godson and the auburn haired Lily in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place was definitely not right. It was more like a bloody miracle, every day since their death he had hoped and prayed that the couple would come back.

Although he was wrongly accused of the murder of James and Lily, he couldn't help blame himself for the change in secret keeper; it had been his idea to switch to Peter, and for that he would always think himself guilty to some extent.

Realizing he had been staring at the grimy stone floor for a good few minutes, he lifted his head; coming face to face with hazel eyes, staring intently into his grey-blue ones.

His lips quirked into a half grin, as he watched James smile brightly at him… god how he had missed his best friend. James was around the same height as he was; a few inches shorter.

The best way to describe James was an older version of Harry, for that's pretty much what he looked like. His hair was wayward and sticking up in every direction and his features were very similar to his sons.

Sirius was at a loss for words…how do you greet your best friend who has been dead for the past fourteen years?

'Sirius,' turning away from James, somewhat hesitantly his eyes fell upon Lily.

She was as beautiful as ever, her hair; slightly curly and flowing over her shoulders. Emerald eyes looking at him in what he could only decipher as concern and fondness, her eyes had always been interesting to look at, brightly colored green, with a hint of gold specked through them.

Her lips were turned up in a soft smile, although the slight pout they had told more of her concern then her eyes did.

She looked the same as always, and in a weird way this was comforting to Sirius; it brought back happier memories of the past. Her skin was pale, her cheeks slightly more pink in color; her figure was short, but well proportioned.

He raised his eye brow, unwilling to talk more, just yet.

'Are you alright? This must be a bit of a shock, even if you were forewarned by Albus' Lily said, her voice the same soft, gentle tone he had always known, yet could never quite remember when trying to recall it over the past years she had been dead.

He nodded, then added somewhat hoarsely, 'I'm fine, really' he stated when she looked skeptical 'I just wasn't expecting such an early visit that's all'

James grinned 'come on Padfoot, it late evening… and I thought it was bad when you would sleep in 'till two in the afternoon,' he paused, shaking his head in mock disappointment, eyes glowing with mirth. Sirius was grateful for James' attempt to break the tension that seemed to have settled around the group of five.

Lily huffed, as Sirius grinned at James; 'honestly James, I'm quite sure that isn't what he meant' she said, voice restraining the laughter that she was trying to hide.

James nudged his wife gently in the side, smiling at her with fondness.

'Is Albus here?' queried Remus, who had been silent for a while now. A little put out by the sudden change in topic Sirius nodded.

'Yes, he's at the front door; taking to Molly' James and Lily, Sirius noticed, looked confused as to who Molly was; but he didn't explain further.

Remus nodded his thanks and swept past Sirius and up the stairs in search of the headmaster.

'What's was that about?' he asked, voice loud in the large kitchen. He would have thought Remus would have at least said hello.

'Peter came to Prongs Palace' James answered, his tone dripping with fury as his hands balled into fists. Sirius turned to look at him sharply, seriously wishing he hadn't as his neck gave a painful crack.

'WHAT? That little basted how dare he, you'll have to change the wards' he said matter-of-factly ignoring Lily's pleading look she sent him after he had cursed Peter. He knew he shouldn't be saying such things in front of Harry, but his godson wouldn't mind; he hated Wormtail just as much.

'That's why we are here, Albus is the only one who knows how to change them' spoke up Lily, crossing her arms over her chest and resting against the wall. Sirius nodded his understanding.

XXX

'Do you want a drink or something' Sirius asked, when all had been quiet for well over five minutes; Harry was picking at the wooden door with his thumb nail, while Lily shifted occasionally; James just stared at Sirius and Sirius switched his gaze to all three in the room with him, he gestured towards the table.

All three sat down, James quickly claiming the seat next to Sirius as fast as possible; Sirius inwardly smiled at this gesture. Lily sat opposite to two men. Harry however stayed standing.

'May I go see Ron and Hermione?' he asked quietly, looking toward Lily, she nodded with a small smile on her lips. Pleased that Harry hadn't been hesitant to ask, well not as much anyway.

'Of course, and bring them down to meet us soon ok?' Harry beamed at his mother's words, face alight with happiness.

'Ok' he echoed as he bolted from the kitchen, giving a quick wave to his father and godfather as he did so. Sirius chuckled at his godsons' antics, before turning back to the couple.

'Wonder how he's going to break the news that he has parents to them?' he laughed; James smiled and nodded while Lily contented herself with reaching over and grasping Sirius' hand with in hers.

'We've missed you Sirius' she said kindly.

'Yeah, even if it doesn't seem that long ago that we talked to you last; you age would beg to differ that we've been gone a _long_ time' added James, a cheeky grin playing on his lips. Sirius gasped, feigning hurt and shocked.

'Are you calling me old?' he asked, voice low in a whisper of disbelief. James shrugged nonchalantly.

'Maybe I am, maybe I am not…_old man_' he quickly added, before bolting from his seat and making a run for the door; Sirius gave a bark like laugh, before running after the wizard; leaving the red head to heave a sigh and roll her eyes heaven wards.

'They're so childish' she huffed, deciding she should go find them and play referee.

XXX

Harry's feet barely touched the stairs he was running up; jumping every now and then to gain more distance and speed. He reached the second landing, heading quickly for the second door.

Heart pounding in his chest as if trying to escape the confines of his rib cage, Harry threw open the door;

'I HAVE PARENTS!' he yelled to the room at large, not caring for the noise he was making.

'Harry?' exclaimed a bushy haired youth, running to greet him; she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, Harry returned her embrace, grinning at the red head who sat on the bed playing a game of wizard chess against his losing sister.

'How have you been, and what was that all about?' she said, a smile on her lips one that reached her eyes fully. Harry grinned back, only just realizing how much he had missed her.

'I've been great, and guess what,' he paused for dramatic effect, watching Hermione and the two red heads for a reaction. Ron quirked an eyebrow, more focused on the chess board then the raven haired teen in front of him. Ginny looked up from the game; clearly displeased with the fact that she was losing but interest of what Harry was on about sparking in her brown eyes.

'My parents are ALIVE!' Harry said, screaming the last part at the top of his lungs; the joy that was bubbling near the surface finally exploding; causing him to use much restraint to keep from bounding around the room.

'WHAT?' Ron yelled back almost as loudly, tipping the chess set off the bed by accident as he stood up, not noticing his queen cursing at him from the dusty floor. The red head was smiling, and Harry couldn't help but smile back a true smile, teeth and all.

'Really mate?' he questioned a little more calmly, Harry nodded enthusiastically, noting that Hermione was yet to speak and Ginny looked uncertain as to whether he had finally snapped and went kooky.

'Harry, maybe you should sit down for a bit,' soothed Hermione, taking his hand and pulling him gently towards one of the big beds. Harry resisted and tugged his hand forcefully from her grasp.

His spirits falling, she didn't believe him. How could she not believe him? He felt the smile fade from his lips, disappointment evident in his expressive green eyes.

'You don't believe me' he said, it wasn't a question but a statement; however the witch replied;

'Well…Harry, they have been dead for years now, are you sure it wasn't just a dream?' Ron rolled his eyes.

'If the guy says his parents are alive, then his parents _are_ alive 'Mione, why would he lie?' said Ron his tone protective and to a certain extent accusing. Harry was thankful that it had been this particular red head that had walked into his compartment on their first journey to Hogwarts, and honestly didn't know what he would have done if it was anyone but him. He knew from Ron's words that he believed him and wasn't just humoring him on the matter.

'It wasn't a dream Hermione, honestly, if it was I have just flooed here from my father's house, with my imaginary parents!' Harry said, watching the girl for her reaction. She frowned slightly, and Harry knew she was not convinced; but before she could retort and try to add a logical reason behind his words the door burst open.

XXX

'YOU'RE IT!' Sirius yelled; punching James lightly on his upper arm, the older man then proceeded to run around the room, his friend hot on his heels. Both acting extremely kid like, and even causing the youths in the room to stare in shock at their antics.

'Sorry about this' said Lily as she too entered the room, voice weary, and signaling that she had been chasing the two men around the house for some time.

'Bloody hell' Ron exclaimed as Sirius and James engaged one another in a rather violent pillow fight.

'How do you react to finding out your best friend is back from the dead and what do you do when meeting him for the first time in years?' Harry said quietly, voice straining to hide his laughter 'you have a pillow fight and squeal like teenage girls, that's what' he finished in exasperation, causing Ron to giggle, and Hermione's lips to twitch.

'We are not screaming like teenage girls,' stated Sirius, faking outrage at the comment, then promptly throwing a pillow in Ginny's direction, making her scream and dive for cover as James did the same.

'That's teenage squealing' Sirius said, eyes alive with mirth as the red head glared in his direction, picking up the two pillows and swinging them at the clearly insane men who jumped from bed to bed, laughing.

Lily sighed, shaking her head back and forth. Hermione sighed breathily, then without warning fell to the floor in a dead faint.

_**Authors note: I apologize for any spelling and grammar mistakes. So how did you all like this chapter? I was a little unsure about it, but thought what the hell I'm going to post it, so here it is. I hope it was enjoyable and please leave me a review and tell me what you thought.**_

_**The answer to the riddle from last chapter was a potato, quite a few got it right so well-done to those who did *claps***_

_**Riddle:**_ _**How many bricks does it take to complete a building made of brick?**_


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